Acerbity

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /əˈsɜːbɪti/
• US IPA: /əˈsɝbɪdi/

Origin

From French acerbité, from Latin acerbitās ("acerbity; harshness"), from acerbus ("bitter"). See acerb.

Full definition of acerbity

Noun

1. Sourness of taste, with bitterness and astringency, like that of unripe fruit.
2. Harshness, bitterness, or severity; as, acerbity of temper, of language, of pain.
• 1905, w, w:The Case of Miss Elliott Chapter 1, “Well ?” I repeated with some acerbity. I had been wondering for the last ten minutes how many more knots he would manage to make in that same bit of string before he actually started undoing them again.