acrid
Americanadjective
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sharp or biting to the taste or smell; bitterly pungent; irritating to the eyes, nose, etc..
acrid smoke from burning rubber.
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extremely or sharply stinging or bitter; exceedingly caustic.
acrid remarks.
adjective
-
unpleasantly pungent or sharp to the smell or taste
-
sharp or caustic, esp in speech or nature
Other Word Forms
- acridity noun
- acridly adverb
- acridness noun
- subacrid adjective
- subacridity noun
- subacridly adverb
- subacridness noun
Etymology
Origin of acrid
1705–15; < Latin ācr- (stem of ācer ) sharp, sour + -id 4, perhaps through influence of acid
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.
The acrid smoke wafting from burning waste in her neighbourhood in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, made it hard to breathe.
From Barron's
At the Chhath festivities too, firecrackers lit up the sky, leaving the air acrid with the smell of burnt sulphur.
From Barron's
New Delhi and its sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million people are regularly ranked among the world's most polluted capitals, with acrid smog blanketing the skyline each winter.
From Barron's
In recent years, complaints of acrid odors, fiery accidents, soot and harmful emissions gained new resonance as public officials became more sensitive to accusations of environmental damage.
From Los Angeles Times
New Delhi and its sprawling metropolitan region -- home to more than 30 million people -- are regularly ranked among the world's most polluted capitals, with acrid smog blanketing the skyline each winter.
From Barron's
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.
