acidulous
Americanadjective
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slightly sour.
-
sharp; caustic.
his acidulous criticism of the book.
-
moderately acid or tart; subacid.
adjective
-
rather sour
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sharp or sour in speech, manner, etc; acid
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of acidulous
From the Latin word acidulus, dating back to 1760–70. See acid, -ulous
Explanation
If you make lemonade and forget the sugar, the drink would have an acidulous or sour taste. If someone makes a snarky comment about your culinary skills, you might call their comments acidulous or bitter. In either usage, the word acidulous leaves a sour taste in your mouth, or a pursed expression on your face. You see the word acid in the word, which, in fact, can also be used in both senses. Someone's acid remarks will be just as hurtful as their acidulous ones. Lemons are an acidic fruit, as are most citrus fruits, but lemons are more acidulous than oranges.
Vocabulary lists containing acidulous
A Culinary Vocabulary Sampler
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National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 3
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Vocab Video Contest (2016) - List 1
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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.
But I was dying to see what she’d do with Joanne, the role originated by Elaine Stritch, who long owned the character’s acidulous second-act number, “The Ladies Who Lunch.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2022
Sharp observations like these show us glimpses of the acidulous social satirist of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2021
Susan Strasberg plays an acidulous critic à la Pauline Kael: “What he creates, he has to wreck, it’s a compulsion.”
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 26, 2018
German tenor Burkhard Ulrich made a properly acidulous Mime.
From Reuters ● Jul. 29, 2013
Waters thus named owe their properties to iron in combination generally with carbonic acid; and as the latter is usually in excess, they are often acidulous as well as chalybeate.
From Memoranda on Tours and Touraine Including remarks on the climate with a sketch of the Botany And Geology of the Province also on the Wines and Mineral Waters of France by Holdsworth, J. H.
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.
