acerbate

English

Etymology

From Latin acerbātus, perfect passive participle of acerbō (“make bitter”), from acerbus (“bitter”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sə.beɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæ.səɹˌbeɪt/, ASS-uhr-bait

Adjective

acerbate (comparative more acerbate, superlative most acerbate)

1. (rare) Embittered; having a sour disposition or nature.

Verb

acerbate (third-person singular simple present acerbates, present participle acerbating, simple past and past participle acerbated)

1. (transitive) To exasperate; to irritate.
   • 1869, Anthony Trollope, chapter 51, in Phineas Finn:

     Lady Laura had triumphed; but she had no desire to acerbate her husband by any unpalatable allusion to her victory.

2. (transitive) To make bitter or sour.

Synonyms

• (exasperate): provoke
• (make bitter): sour, embitter

Derived terms

• acerbation
• exacerbate

Translations

exasperate

• Bulgarian: дразня (bg) (draznja), ядосвам (bg) (jadosvam)
• Hungarian: elkeserít (hu)
• Interlingua: acerbar
• Latin: acerbō

to make bitter or sour

• Portuguese: acerbar (pt)

References

• “acerbate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /a.kerˈbaː.te/, [äkɛrˈbäːt̪ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a.t͡ʃerˈba.te/, [ät͡ʃerˈbäːt̪e]

Verb

acerbāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of acerbō