acetic

American  

[uh-see-tik, uh-set-ik] / əˈsi tɪk, əˈsɛt ɪk /

adjective

1. pertaining to, derived from, or producing vinegar or acetic acid.

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acetic British  

/ əˈsɛt-, əˈsiːtɪk /

adjective

1. of, containing, producing, or derived from acetic acid or vinegar

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acetic Scientific  

/ ə-sē′tĭk /

1. Relating to or containing acetic acid or vinegar.

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Other Word Forms

• semiacetic adjective
• unacetic adjective

Etymology

Origin of acetic

First recorded in 1800–10; acet- + -ic

Example Sentences

They include companies like Chemours and Tronox, which make titanium dioxide, a pigment used in paint and wallpaper, and Celanese, which produces acetic acid, a key ingredient in many industrial products.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

Sixty jobs will go at the Ineos Acetyls site near Hull, which makes products including acetic acid used in manufacturing.

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025

Birch also cites an experiment in which lidocaine was used to relieve experimentally-induced pain from an injection of acetic acid in an octopus.

From Salon • Jul. 14, 2024

This resulted in a multi-stage cascade of enzymatic reactions that ultimately converts alcohol into acetic acid.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2024

Instead of using something that might harm us, I mix a concoction of a surfactant, NaCl, and a chemical derivative of acetic acid—aka Dawn dish soap, salt, and vinegar.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera