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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective acrid contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of acrid are caustic, mordant, and scathing. While all these words mean "stingingly incisive," acrid implies bitterness and often malevolence.

acrid invective

When would caustic be a good substitute for acrid?

While in some cases nearly identical to acrid, caustic suggests a biting wit.

caustic comments

When can mordant be used instead of acrid?

The words mordant and acrid are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, mordant suggests a wit that is used with deadly effectiveness.

mordant reviews of the play

In what contexts can scathing take the place of acrid?

In some situations, the words scathing and acrid are roughly equivalent. However, scathing implies indignant attacks delivered with fierce severity.

a scathing satire

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of acrid Families huddled in underground metro stations for shelter and acrid smoke hung over the city centre. Pavel Polityuk, USA Today, 4 July 2025 Explosions could still be seen in the area as of 10 p.m. and an acrid smell wafted across the fields around the one-mile evacuation area. Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2025 As a sanitation worker in New York City for almost two decades, Mr. Martin is well accustomed to tossing bags of acrid, leaky garbage from the curb into the back of a truck. Emma G. Fitzsimmons, New York Times, 2 June 2025 Wearing a mask to filter out the acrid tang of sulfates and carbon soot, Wu uses his phone’s camera to capture the license plates and company markings on the buses, then a nearby address, then the school’s façade. Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for acrid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acrid
Adjective
  • Neil’s with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Sixx’s with the Los Angeles Times — also have their subjects addressing the band’s split with former guitarist Mick Mars in 2022 and the sore feelings and lawsuits that have come out of that.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2025
  • The Angels were also without shortstop Zach Neto because of a sore left wrist and outfielder Jo Adell because of vertigo.
    Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Parsley is a biennial that quickly bolts and dies the second year, and since second-year parsley is bitter, it’s typically grown as an annual.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Whenever these bitter rivals have met in recent years, there has never been a shortage of offense.
    Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Mugs and satirical commemorative plates are some of the items that can be seen on display in a local gift shop.
    Callum Sutherland, Time, 16 Sep. 2025
  • The 2025 South Korean satirical black comedy thriller is co-written, produced and directed by Park Chan-wook (Decision To Leave, Old Boy, The Handmaiden).
    Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • But Newsom seems to have found his footing nationally by catering to angry anti-Trump Democrats, his conciliatory remarks in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting notwithstanding.
    W. James Antle III, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • For example, long wait times, high prices and confusing models have left people angry with the car sales industry.
    Brandon Aversano, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • His witty, sarcastic, and often controversial commentary is the soundtrack to a generation of wrestling fans.
    Andrew Ravens‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
  • She’s matched wonderfully by Cooke, who leans into her actual Manchester accent to give Cherry a stroppy, sarcastic bent and whose body looks absolutely banging wrapped in an array of oxblood, maroon, and cerise minidresses.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Huang, also a professional military strategist and university professor, told the Washington Examiner that his party sees the DPP’s posturing as a cynical move to build domestic support without considering the long-term consequences.
    Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 16 Sep. 2025
  • That has often been misinterpreted as a cynical endorsement of warfare.
    Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Rainwater reacts with carbon dioxide in the air and becomes slightly acidic, wearing away at rock exposed on the Earth’s surface.
    Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Producing such minerals in a lifeless place would probably require acidic conditions or high temperatures—and the area showed signs of neither.
    David W. Brown, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • An acrimonious debate is underway about the nature of AI psychosis.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • That then led to a hearing regarding this preliminary injunction in Charlotte, an acrimonious battle, ahead of this week’s ruling from Bell.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Acrid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acrid. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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