acerb

marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings a professor with a rather acerb sense of humor Synonyms sarcastic, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulous, acrid, barbed, biting, caustic, corrosive, cutting, mordant, pungent, sardonic, satiric (or satirical), scalding, scathing, sharp, smart-aleck, smart-alecky, smart-mouthed, snarky, tartRelated Words brisk, cross, sharp-tongued, sour, sourish, spiky (also spikey), tartish; incisive, keen, poignant, trenchant; cynical, dry, ironic (also ironical), wry; facetious, flippant, tongue-in-cheek; acrimonious, bitter, resentful, vitriolic; harsh, rough, severe, stringent; abrupt, blunt, brusque (also brusk), concise, crisp, curt, gruff, pithy, snippety, snippy, succinct, terse; backhanded, insincereNear Antonyms amusing, droll, merry, playful, sportive, waggish; gentle, mild; bland; good-humored, good-natured; diplomatic, polite, smooth, suave, urbane; affable, cordial, genial, gracious, hospitable, sociable