acerbate

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acerbate

/ˈa.sə.beɪt/ UK
/ˈæ.səɹˌbeɪt/ US

Where it comes from

From Latin acerbātus, perfect passive participle of acerbō (“make bitter”), from acerbus (“bitter”).

adjective more acerbate · most acerbate

rare Embittered; having a sour disposition or nature.

verb acerbates · acerbating · acerbated

transitive To exasperate; to irritate. Lady Laura had triumphed; but she had no desire to acerbate her husband by any unpalatable allusion to her victory.
Similar: provoke
transitive To make bitter or sour.
Similar: sour, embitter

Translations

Every language

verb to make bitter or sour

Português	acerbar

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Cite this

MLA

"acerbate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/acerbate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

acerbate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/acerbate

Chicago

"acerbate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/acerbate.

BibTeX

@misc{acerbate_2026,
  title = {acerbate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/acerbate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}