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acerbic

UK/əˈsɜː(ɹ)bɪk/US/əˈsərbɪk/
adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,078 of 15,258leans written

Acerbic means sharp and biting in speech. An acerbic wit, acerbic comments, acerbic and funny.

It is admiring as often as not, since an acerbic critic is one worth reading. The Latin means sour, and acerbity and exacerbate come from the same root, which is why making something worse is exacerbating it.

Definitions of acerbic

  1. 1adjectiveacerbicSharp and biting in speech.C2

    “Her acerbic wit made her a popular guest on television chat shows.”

acerbic is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin acerbus means sour or bitter, and is the root of exacerbate as well.

  1. Latin

    acerbus

  2. English, today

    acerbic

From Latin acerbus. Attested since the 17th century, from Latin acerbus (“sour, bitter”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

acerbic in the wild

  • Ludwig Quidde was a German politician and pacifist who is mainly remembered today for his acerbic criticism of German Emperor Wilhelm II.

    Ludwig Quidde

  • The novel was widely acclaimed by readers and critics alike, described as a funny, acerbic, and moving hymn to a dazed and confused era of American life.

    The Ice Storm (novel)

  • "An Englishman in New York" is a song by Godley & Creme, from their 1979 album Freeze Frame, featuring acerbic observations of American culture from a British perspective.

    An Englishman in New York (song)

  • The title track is an acerbic and blackly humorous reference to the Iraq War, reset in southern California's Miracle Mile.

    Here Come the Choppers

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.