Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

acerbity

/əˈsɝbɪti/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.10 in modern English

Syllables: acer-bity
IPA: /əˈsɝbɪti/

15

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Sourness of taste, with bitterness and astringency, like that of unripe fruit.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Harshness, bitterness, or severity.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Something harsh (e.g. a remark, act or experience).

Countable

Example Sentences

"acerbity of temper, of language, of pain"
"“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."
"[…] the recollection of that yesterday […] made him bear with the meekness and patience of a true-hearted man all the worrying little acerbities of to-day;"
"This opera was mainly in the style of late Puccini, with acerbities stolen from Stravinsky."

Etymology

Borrowed from French acerbité, from Latin acerbitās (“acerbity; harshness”), from acerbus (“bitter”). See acerb.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: acerbité, acerbitās, *h₂eḱ-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /əˈsɝbɪti/
British English: /əˈsɜːbɪti/

Usage

Inflected Forms

acerbities (plural)

Synonyms

bitterness acrimony jaundice tartness thorniness

Questions

How do you pronounce acerbity?: The recorded pronunciation is /əˈsɝbɪti/.
What does acerbity mean?: Sourness of taste, with bitterness and astringency, like that of unripe fruit.
Where does acerbity come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce acerbity

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “acerbity”.
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