subacid

American

[suhb-as-id] / sʌbˈæs ɪd /

adjective

slightly or moderately acid or sour.

a subacid fruit.
(of a person or a person's speech, temper, etc.) somewhat biting or sharp.

subacid British

/ sʌbˈæsɪd, ˌsʌbəˈsɪdɪtɪ /

adjective

(esp of some fruits) moderately acid or sour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

subacidity noun
subacidly adverb
subacidness noun

Etymology

Origin of subacid

First recorded in 1660–70; sub- + 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.

Numberless are the jokes made about the Legion of Honour, yet none contain such subacid irony as this one.

From Project Gutenberg

Sapodilla, sap-ō-dil′a, n. a name given in the West Indies to the fruit of several species of Achras, the seeds aperient and diuretic, the pulp subacid and sweet.

From Project Gutenberg

“Good evening,” repeated Christina in a low, subacid voice, looking away into her bowl of sliced onions.

From Project Gutenberg

The berries of some fuchsias are subacid or sweet and edible.

From Project Gutenberg

He chuckles with sly laughter—genial, sympathetic; he looses his arrow phosphorescent with wit, but not barbed, dipped in something subacid,—straight for the heart.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023