ACID
/'æsid/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A chemical substance: Any of a large class of chemical substances, typically water-soluble, that have a sour taste, turn blue litmus paper red, and react with bases and some metals to form salts.
- A specific psychoactive drug: (Slang) The street name for the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
Adjective:
- Having a sour taste: Sharp, tart, or sour to the taste, like vinegar or lemon juice.
- Sharp or biting in tone or manner: Harsh, sharp, bitter, or critical in speech, expression, or wit.
Examples of Usage
Noun:
- Vinegar contains acetic acid.
- The scientist handled the acid with great care in the laboratory.
- (Slang) He had a bad trip after taking acid.
Adjective:
- The fruit had a pleasantly acid flavor.
- She made an acid remark about his performance, leaving him speechless.
Advanced Usage
"Acid test": A decisive or critical test that proves the value or quality of something.
- The new software's ability to handle massive data loads was the acid test for the development team.
"Acid tongue": A tendency to speak in a sharp, critical, or sarcastic manner.
- He was known for his acid tongue during political debates.
Variants and Related Words
Acidic (adj): Having the properties of an acid; sour-tasting or sharp in manner.
- The soil in this region is too acidic for those plants.
- His acidic sense of humor wasn't appreciated by everyone.
Acidity (n): The level of acid in a substance; sourness.
- The acidity of the wine balanced its sweetness perfectly.
Acidify (v): To make or become acid.
- Industrial pollution can acidify rainwater.
Synonyms
- Noun (Chemical): Corrosive, etchant.
- Adjective (Taste): Sour, tart, sharp, vinegary.
- Adjective (Manner): Acerbic, caustic, biting, vitriolic, sarcastic.
Related Phrases
Acid rain: Rain made acidic by atmospheric pollution, harmful to the environment.
- The effects of acid rain on the forest were devastating.
Amino acid: Organic compounds that are the building blocks of proteins.
- Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids.
Related Idioms
- Put the acid on (someone): (Australian/NZ informal) To pressure someone strongly; to try to obtain something from someone by forceful persuasion.
- He really put the acid on me to lend him the money.
Adjective
- having the characteristics of an acid
- an acid reaction
- being sour to the taste
- harsh or corrosive in tone
- an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose
- a barrage of acid comments
- her acrid remarks make her many enemies
- bitter words
- blistering criticism
- caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics
- a sulfurous denunciation
- a vitriolic critique
Noun
- street name for lysergic acid diethylamide
- any of various water-soluble compounds having a sour taste and capable of turning litmus red and reacting with a base to form a salt