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What is "acerbic"

Crossword clues for acerbic

acerbic
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
acerbic
adjective
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ After it he'd become withdrawn and moody, his formerly friendly nature turning acerbic and harsh.
▪ He is known for his acerbic wit and his mean streak.
▪ The most entertaining moments of the debate took place during acerbic cross fires among the leading candidates.
▪ Thomas's witty and sometimes acerbic voice became the other side of her inner dialogue.
▪ Traditionally it was an area of peasant insurrectionists, schismatics, and sectarians whose acerbic style was reflected in Lenin's own.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Acerbic

Acerbic \A*cerb"ic\, a. Sour or severe.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
acerbic

1865, originally, and usually, figurative: "sour, harsh, severe" (of speech, manners, etc.), from Latin acerbus "harsh to the taste, sharp, bitter, sour" (see acerbity) + -ic.

Wiktionary
acerbic

a. 1 Tasting sour or bitter. 2 sharp, harsh, biting.

WordNet
acerbic

  1. adj. sour or bitter in taste [syn: acerb, astringent, sharp]

  2. harsh or corrosive in tone; "an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid comments"; "her acrid remarks make her many enemies"; "bitter words"; "blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"; "a sulfurous denunciation" [syn: acerb, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, venomous, virulent, vitriolic]

Usage examples of "acerbic".

The computerized response lacked any trace of personality, quite unlike the acerbic tone Seven expected from his own Beta 5 computer.

They seemed to find her lack of response rather daunting, even the more acerbic Gelana.

What made the book different from routine, acerbic attacks on the industry was the scholarly thoroughness of its author, Dr.

She could be sure that Sister Erminet would report every detail of her encounter with the High Initiate back to Kael Amion, enriching the mixture with her own acerbic observations.

Occasionally, she was guiltily aware that Garth was being pushed to the periphery of her life--a life that revolved almost totally around Tara and their home, but although Garth was inclined at times to make slightly acerbic comments about the fact that even on the rare occasion when they did have time to themselves, inevitably the sole topic of her conversation was Tara, deep down Claudia knew that he adored her just as much as she did herself.

Craig Meyers, who operated a menswear factory, said with an acerbic smile.

The most immediately striking is Tom Coyle, an acerbic Glaswegian with a tongue that can flay the arrogance off a graduate with an alarming, inventive but always scatological turn of phrase.

As nearly as I can remember the prime perpetrators were Don Wollheim, Johnny Michel, Bob Lowndes and myself, but we quickly acquired a couple of dozen other like-minded actifans and writer wannabees, and among them was a pudgy, acerbic fourteen-year-old from the far northern reaches of Manhattan whose name was Cyril Kornbluth.

Woollcott, who had an acerbic tongue for just about everyone, held a soft spot in his heart for combat veterans, especially Marines.

She was herself again, acerbic and critical, but there was an underling note of anxiety that was clearly audible to Diana.

Oh, plenty of people had plenty to say about her acerbic wit and direct manner, but no one truly hated her.

Certainly Ahlitah, despite his exceptional if acerbic linguistic talents, was no peruser of books and scrolls.