acerbity

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“
His soldierly alertness and sternness relaxed surprisingly at some times and at others were exaggerated into unnecessary acerbity, his conduct in this regard suggesting that of a drunken man who knows that he is drunk and who now and then makes a brave effort to appear sober.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun Sourness or acidness of taste, character, or tone.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • But if the Lama had noticed the acerbity, he made no sign. —  OM: The Secret of Ahbor Valley
  • One can only account for the acerbity with which Mr. Forster was attacked on the ground that, both as a Radical and the son of Nonconformist parents, he had excited the hope among the extreme party that he himself would be as extreme as any of them. —  Memoirs of Sir Wemyss Reid 1842-1885
  • Even Simon Cowell, known for his acerbity on contestants, was clearly floored by the performance of this never-been-kissed, 47-year-old woman.
  • He has the speech inflections, the facial expressions and even looks a bit like the thirtysomething Clough of the early 70s - but the mix of humour and acerbity is not quite there. —  Culture | guardian.co.uk
  • But where is irony, acerbity, naughtiness which is required for Higgins? —  Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Earlier acerbitie, from French acerbité = Spanish acerbidad = Italian acerbità, from Latin acerbita(t-)s, sharpness, sourness, harshness, from acerbus, sharp: see acerb.
 

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/æˈsərbəti/
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