Acerb

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈsɜːb/

Definitions

1. Sharp and bitter in taste or manner; harsh or severe in quality or tone
2. Having a pungent, biting flavor or a tone that is stern and cutting
3. Describing something with a harsh, sour taste or a caustic and severe attitude

Etymology: Latin "ācer" meant "sharp," and it is the root of a whole family of English words that describe a stinging quality, among them "acrid" and "acrimony." "Acerb" comes from the Latin adjective "acerbus," which took that sharpness and extended it from the sense of a physical edge to a taste that is bitter or astringent, and then to a manner or tone that is harsh. The English word is borrowed directly from Latin, and a close French cousin, "acerbe," carries the same sense of biting severity. Two people reading the same word might hear it differently, since the sour and the cruel are both meant. A dry wine or an unripe fruit can be acerb in taste, while a sharp rebuke or a severe critic can be acerb in tone. The Latin root supplies both senses at once, so the English word inherits the bite of a sour taste and the sting of an unkind remark.

Synonyms: bitter, sharp, sour

Antonyms: sweet, pleasant