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acerbity

English

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acerbity

  • /əˈsɜːbɪti/ UK
  • /əˈsɝbɪti/ Canada, US
  • [əˈsɝbɪɾi] Canada, US
  • /əˈsɜːbɪti/ Australia
  • [əˈsɜːbɪɾi] Australia

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French acerbité, from Latin acerbitās (“acerbity; harshness”), from acerbus (“bitter”). See acerb.

noun acerbities

  1. countable, uncountable Sourness of taste, with bitterness and astringency, like that of unripe fruit.
  2. countable, figuratively, uncountable Harshness, bitterness, or severity. acerbity of temper, of language, of pain
  3. countable Something harsh (e.g. a remark, act or experience). […] the recollection of that yesterday […] made him bear with the meekness and patience of a true-hearted man all the worrying little acerbities of to-day;

Translations

Every language

noun sourness

Españolacerbidad, amargura
हिन्दीकसैलापन kasailāpan
Portuguêsacerbidade
Françaisacerbité, amertume
DeutschSauerkeit
Русскийтерпкость térpkost’

noun harshness

Españolacerbidad
Portuguêsacerbidade
Françaisacerbité, amertume
DeutschBitterkeit
Русскийязвительность jazvítelʹnost’

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Cite this
MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{acerbity_2026,
  title = {acerbity},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/acerbity},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}