acerb
UK /əˈsɜːb/ · US /əˈsɜɹb/ adjective
Forms acerber acerbest
- adjective (archaic) Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, such as unripe fruit.
- adjective (archaic, figurative) Sharp and harsh in expressing oneself.
Synonyms
acerbic astringent acid acrid bitter blistering caustic sulfurous sulphurous virulent vitriolic
Etymology
From Latin acerbus, from Latin ācer (“sharp”): compare French acerbe. See acrid.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [L. acerbus, fr. acer sharp: cf. F. acerbe. See Acrid.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “acerb”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details