acerbate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make sour or bitter.
-
to exasperate.
adjective
verb
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to embitter or exasperate
-
to make sour or bitter
Etymology
Origin of acerbate
1725–35; < Latin acerbātus, past participle of acerbāre to make bitter. See acerbic, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fires ravaging huge swaths of countryside only acerbate the climate crisis, he said.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 7, 2022
There seemed to be a danger that Kennedy's straight talk might even further acerbate Franco-American relations.
From Time Magazine Archive
The poor girl had not spirit sufficient to upbraid her friend; nor did it suit her now to acerbate an enemy.
From The Way We Live Now by Trollope, Anthony
Lady Laura had triumphed; but she had no desire to acerbate her husband by any unpalatable allusion to her victory.
From Phineas Finn The Irish Member by Trollope, Anthony
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
