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There has been an element of austerity, even astringency, in one major strain of the novel since the nineteenth century.—Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026 That’s because tea leaves contain tannins, complex chemical substances that give tea its astringency and dark color.—Asia London Palomba, The Spruce, 2 Apr. 2026 The mouthfeel is medium and polished, smoother and satiny rather than syrupy, with oak providing structure rather than tannic astringency.—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 13 Feb. 2026 Tremain’s novel of youthful romantic obsession and painful growing up reminded me in its comic astringency of Muriel Spark, and, in its respect for the roiling emotions of one’s teens and twenties, of Sally Rooney.—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for astringency