acerbate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to make sour or bitter.
-
to exasperate.
adjective
verb
-
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.
See Examples For:
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
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 Anthony Trollope
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 Anthony Trollope
Schalke’s recent frustrations have been acerbated by Dortmund’s relative success in establishing itself as Bayern’s greatest challenger.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 30, 2017
Helped by Nixon's admiration for De Gaulle, the acerbated diplomatic relations between the U.S. and France became better than they had been in more than a decade.
From Time Magazine Archive
And personally his feelings had been acerbated in that he had been called 'mate' by a man not half his age.
From John Caldigate by Anthony Trollope
The whole story angered de Lescure, whose temper was acerbated by his own inactivity and suffering, and whose common sense could not endure the seeming folly of putting confidence in so mysterious a warrior.
From La Vendée by Anthony Trollope
And the bitter struggles for control, perhaps acerbated because of the family relationship among the partners, were now a thing of the past.
From History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills by Robert B. Shaw
At first they were both extremely angry, acerbating each other's wrath.
From Ayala's Angel by Anthony Trollope
Lord Palmerston, too, was a typical example of a leader lulling, rather than arousing, assuaging rather than acerbating the minds of his followers.
From The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
