acerbic

adjective

acer·​bic ə-ˈsər-bik 

a-

: sharply or bitingly critical, sarcastic, or ironic in temper, mood, or tone

acerbic commentary

an acerbic reviewer

acerbically

ə-ˈsər-bi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Did you know?

English speakers created acerbic in the 19th century by combining the adjective acerb with the suffix -ic-. Acerb had already been around for a couple centuries, but for most of that time it had been used only to describe foods with a sour taste. (Acerb is still around today, but now it's simply a less common synonym of acerbic.) Acerbic and acerb ultimately come from the Latin adjective acerbus, which can mean "harsh" or "unpleasant." Another English word that comes from acerbus is exacerbate, which means "to make more violent or severe."

Synonyms

• sarcastic
• satirical
• satiric
• acidic
• barbed
• acid

Examples of acerbic in a Sentence

Whitney has graced magazine covers for her acerbic and blunt evisceration of the banks she has covered. Several weeks ago, she left her well-paid post at Oppenheimer to start her own economic consultancy, where she will charge many of her employer's clients for her own unambiguous analysis. —Zachary Karabell, Newsweek, 9 Mar. 2009

… we probably have no choice but to enjoy Private Lives on its own terms—as a play that exults in its total lack of a public dimension. Coward's acerbic wit, his submerged sensibility, and his clipped semantics actually had a profound influence on the styles of virtually all the English dramatists who followed him … —Robert Brustein, New Republic, 10 June 2002

… discovery of self-esteem and New Agey conclusions ("I discovered there was a goddess deep inside me") are something that an acerbic comedian like Cho shouldn't embrace without irony. —Publishers Weekly, 7 May 2001

We want to experience how someone as acerbic as Jane Austen, as morally passionate as Dostoyevsky, as psychologically astute as Henry James makes sense of the chaos of this world. —Laura Miller, New York Times Book Review, 15 Mar. 1998

the film's most acerbic critics

whispered a steady stream of acerbic comments as the lecturer droned on

Recent Examples on the Web

In previous administrations, Defense Department officials — including the acerbic Rumsfeld — would hold regular press briefings, often twice a week. —Tom Bowman, NPR, 14 Oct. 2025

The host, Scotty, is an acerbic jerk who saves his meanest digs for Richter’s Mickey. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 12 Oct. 2025

Mary Bronstein’s first movie, the acerbic 2008 comedy Yeast, co-starring Greta Gerwig, came and went with little fanfare. —Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025

McGinley portrayed the acerbic attending physician who found himself as the unwilling mentor to the show's protagonist, J.D. —Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

acerb + -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above

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