as in sarcastic
marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings
whispered a steady stream of acerbic comments as the lecturer droned on
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Recent Examples of acerbic
In her first major big-screen role since May December, an icy-blonde Natalie Portman is Polina Polinski, an ambitious gallerist gearing up for her Art Basel premiere, in this acerbic art world satire from Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs).
—
Radhika Seth, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
Those med students, cocky know-it-all Ogilvy (Lucas Iverson) and acerbic, perceptive Joy (Irene Choi), are drops in a flood of new faces that mark one of the few ways a show set in a single place can meaningfully scale up.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Jan. 2026
During her speech, Paulson shared a bunch of text messages Keaton had sent her over the years, all of which were at once warm and acerbic, kind and a playfully combative.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2026
The book adaptation was earlier in the works at HBO Max as Amazon MGM Studio has greenlit an eight-episode young adult romance series about Campbell Cooper, an acerbic teenager dying of cancer.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for acerbic
Radhika Seth, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
Those med students, cocky know-it-all Ogilvy (Lucas Iverson) and acerbic, perceptive Joy (Irene Choi), are drops in a flood of new faces that mark one of the few ways a show set in a single place can meaningfully scale up.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Jan. 2026
During her speech, Paulson shared a bunch of text messages Keaton had sent her over the years, all of which were at once warm and acerbic, kind and a playfully combative.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2026
The book adaptation was earlier in the works at HBO Max as Amazon MGM Studio has greenlit an eight-episode young adult romance series about Campbell Cooper, an acerbic teenager dying of cancer.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for acerbic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acerbic
Adjective
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In her response, Stanton was livid and sarcastic.—
Moira Donegan,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
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Adebayo said with a sarcastic smile.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The satirical stuff that Hart was writing in the 1930s no longer would play in the 1940s with the war on.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
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The darkly satirical film stars Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Brühl, and Keanu Reeves and is set on a long-haul flight where the entertainment system fails and passengers are forced to face the horror of being bored.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Blueberries need acidic soil, grow lights, and exposure to cold temperatures to thrive and produce fruit indoors.—
Rae Ford,
Martha Stewart,
16 Mar. 2026
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An acidic aqueous electrolyte containing iron salts circulated continuously through the system during testing.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Many South African farms are ringed in barbed wire and outfitted with security cameras; one of the migrants told me a story about confronting armed robbers.—
Boyce Upholt,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
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The release put out by the White House is on the heels of barbed posts by top aide Cheung and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt against CNN and several other outlets.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Fires caused by Israeli strikes on oil reservoirs on Saturday burned for multiple days, prompting Iranian officials to warn residents against acid and toxic rain that resulted from the significant amount of pollutants in the air.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
10 Mar. 2026
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An arrest has been made in an acid attack on a Long Island college student that happened nearly five years ago.—
Alexa Herrera,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Acerbic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acerbic. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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