Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The quality of being acrid; pungency conjoined with bitterness and corrosive irritation; acridness.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality of being acrid or pungent; irritant bitterness; extreme bitterness; acrimony.
  • noun having an acrid smell.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun bitterness or acerbity
  • noun An acrid taste or smell.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the quality of being sharply disagreeable in language or tone
  • noun having an acrid smell
  • noun extreme bitterness

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • In heating the Indian turnip and other corms, it was found that the heat applied must be sufficient to change the character of the starch or the so-called acridity was not destroyed.

    Popular Science Monthly Oct, Nov, Dec, 1915 — Volume 86 Anonymous

  • In heating the Indian turnip and other corms, it was found that the heat applied must be sufficient to change the character of the starch or the so-called acridity was not destroyed.

    The Scientific Monthly, October-December 1915 Scientific Monthly 1915

  • The pope, without violence or acridity seems to be saying: You too are called to discover Christ and to enter into the Church, if you so desire.

    Islam 2009

  • While the larger examples are best peeled (to remove their thick skins) and cooked (to mellow their acridity), the smaller, tender specimens can, like radishes, be served as is with butter and sea salt.

    Why You Should Dig Turnips Charlotte Druckman 2011

  • The work artfully juxtaposes two complex, quasi-symphonic percussion instruments piano and gamelan ensemble, East and West each making fluent-sounding attempts at adopting the accent of the other, with the piano's unusual tuning giving a quirky tinge to its tones, a slight acridity to would-be octaves.

    Music review: Post-Classical Ensemble recognizes the work of Lou Harrison 2011

  • They wilted immediately, which took away their sting, and the smell of them was very green, like spinach but without the acridity and with a wild, nutty edge.

    The Dirty Life Kristin Kimball 2010

  • There is an acridity or pungency both in cold things, as vinegar and oil of vitriol, and in hot, as oil of marjoram and the like.

    The New Organon 2005

  • True, we were only in a few neighborhoods and the weather was only chilly and not freezing, but still, I wanted my brown paper bag full of hot chestnuts tasting slightly sweet and nutty with just a hint of acridity where the shells had been blackened on the bottom.

    Road Trip -- New York FJK 2005

  • True, we were only in a few neighborhoods and the weather was only chilly and not freezing, but still, I wanted my brown paper bag full of hot chestnuts tasting slightly sweet and nutty with just a hint of acridity where the shells had been blackened on the bottom.

    Archive 2005-12-01 FJK 2005

  • Liquids, whether waters or oils, which possess a great and intense acridity, act like heat in tearing asunder bodies and burning them after some time; yet to the touch they are not hot at first.

    The New Organon 2005

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