SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
acerbic
adjective
Sharp and biting in tone or temper.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See acerbic in use
The critic's acerbic comments overshadowed her useful observations.
At a student magazine meeting, Leena was assertive about the need for a clearer editing schedule: she named the missed handoffs and asked for specific deadlines. She remained composed when another editor interrupted, pausing before returning to the dates on her list. His acerbic reply mocked the team's supposed talent for confusion.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license