acidulous


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Related to acidulous: acidulous water

acidulous

moderately acid or tart; sharp; caustic: an acidulous critique
Not to be confused with:
assiduous – constant; persevering; unremitting: assiduous investigation; continuous; tireless; diligent: an assiduous pursuit of perfection
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

a·cid·u·lous

 (ə-sĭj′ə-ləs)
adj.
Slightly sour in taste or in manner.
[From Latin acidulus, diminutive of acidus, sour; see acid.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

acidulous

(əˈsɪdjʊləs) or

acidulent

adj
1. rather sour
2. sharp or sour in speech, manner, etc; acid
[C18: from Latin acidulus sourish, diminutive of acidus sour]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•cid•u•lous

(əˈsɪdʒ ə ləs)

also a•cid•u•lent

(-lənt)

adj.
1. slightly sour.
2. sharp; caustic: acidulous criticism.
3. moderately acid or tart; subacid.
[1760–70; < Latin acidulus. See acid, -ulous]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.acidulous - being sour to the taste
acidulent, acid, acidic
sour - having a sharp biting taste
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

acidulous

adjective
Having a taste characteristic of that produced by acids:
acerb, acerbic, acetous, acid, dry, sour, tangy, tart.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

acidulous

[əˈsɪdjʊləs] ADJ → acídulo
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
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References in classic literature ?
He had to be careful, for he was very sensitive to ridicule; and the acidulous humour with which the American treated the Church of England disconcerted him.
View in context
Castoriadis has conducted an acidulous critique on Lacan, starting from the understanding of imaginary which in Castoriadis is broader as related to representation.
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In that respect, they are reminiscent of the viewpoint of Lincoln's own elite bureaucratic contemporaries-the acidulous Adam Gurowski, the unsatisfiable Wendell Phillips, the ambitious Salmon Chase--who could not imagine how someone as gauche and uncertified as Abraham Lincoln could possibly pilot the country through the shoals of chaos.
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Some day I will surprise him by walking into his office with a faint, acidulous, sardonical smile.
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(1272) There is something acerbic or, as Costello earlier describes herself at this stage of life, "acidulous" in the character's literary assessment, and also something that seems, on the evidence of the African work presented in the anthology, misdirected, wrong.
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"Insider publishing stuff delivered with acidulous wit." BARBARA HOFFERT
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