acrimony

noun

ac·​ri·​mo·​ny ˈa-krə-ˌmō-nē 

plural acrimonies

: anger and bitterness : harsh or biting sharpness especially of words, manner, or feelings

The dispute continued with increased acrimony.

Synonyms of acrimony

• bitterness
• hostility
• severity
• anger
• malice
• bile

Examples of acrimony in a Sentence

The dispute began again with increased acrimony.

she responded with such acrimony that he never brought the subject up again

Recent Examples on the Web

Nantucket residents voted to preserve their right to rent properties to short-term visitors, capping years of acrimony on the Massachusetts island over how to balance its tourism economy with a housing crunch. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025

Sia's contentious divorce just reached a whole new level of acrimony. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025

In the end, the band didn’t break up out of acrimony. —David Hill, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2025

The sketches ran long, often up to twenty minutes, forcing viewers to endure the family acrimony past the point of comfort. —Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French acrimonie, borrowed from Latin ācrimōnia, from ācr-, ācer "sharp, biting, keen" + -mōnia, suffix of abstract nouns (going back to the Indo-European noun-forming suffix *-mĕ̄n-/*-mŏ̄n- + the abstract noun formative *-i-) — more at acr-

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for acrimony

• abalone
• alimony
• antimony
• ceremony
• chalcedony
• cicerone
• cosmogony
• eurozone
• lithopone
• macaroni
• matrimony
• naloxone

Kids Definition

acrimony

noun

ac·​ri·​mo·​ny ˈak-rə-ˌmō-nē 

plural acrimonies

: harsh or biting sharpness especially of words, manner, or disposition

acrimonious

ˌak-rə-ˈmō-nē-əs

adjective

acrimoniously adverb

acrimoniousness noun