Astringent means drying and puckering in the mouth. An astringent wine, astringent fruit, astringent tannins.
It is a feeling rather than a taste: tannins bind to the proteins in saliva and the mouth loses its slipperiness, which is why strong tea and unripe fruit feel rough. Astringent criticism is dry and sharp. Note the Latin, meaning to bind fast.
1adjectiveastringentDrying and puckering in the mouth.
“Strong black tea can taste astringent if you leave the bag in too long.”
2adjectivesharpDry and sharp in manner.
“The critic was known for her astringent reviews, which rarely praised anything.”
astringent is a quality of sensation.
Latin adstringere means to bind fast, from ad plus stringere, to draw tight. Stringent and strict share the root.
Proto-Indo-European
*streyg-
Latin
adstringere — to bind fast
English, today
astringent
From Latin adstringere (“to bind fast”), from ad + stringere. Compare stringent.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Smell & Taste