Definition

1. Verb:
   • To make something sour or bitter in taste.
   • To irritate or exasperate someone; to make someone feel bitter or resentful.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The spoiled milk will acerbate the taste of the coffee.
  • His constant criticism began to acerbate her, filling her with resentment.
  • Adding too much lemon can acerbate the sauce, making it unpleasant.

Advanced Usage

• "to acerbate a situation": to make a difficult situation worse or more tense.
  • His inflammatory comments only served to acerbate the already tense negotiations.
• Used in formal or literary contexts to describe the worsening of feelings or conditions.

Variants and Related Words

• Acerbic (adj): sharp and forthright in tone or taste; bitter.
  • She is known for her acerbic wit.
• Acerbity (n): sourness or bitterness of taste, manner, or tone.
  • The acerbity of his reply surprised everyone.

Synonyms

• Exacerbate: to make a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling worse. (Note: Often used interchangeably with "acerbate" for worsening situations, but "exacerbate" is more common and does not carry the "sour taste" meaning).
• Embitter: to make someone feel bitter or resentful.
• Irritate: to make someone annoyed or angry.
• Aggravate: to make a problem or situation worse.

Antonyms

• Soothe: to gently calm a person or their feelings.
• Pacify: to quell the anger or agitation of.
• Alleviate: to make suffering or a problem less severe.
• Sweeten: to make something taste sweet.

Notes on Usage

• The verb "acerbate" is relatively rare in modern everyday English. The more commonly used verb for the meaning "to make worse" is exacerbate.
• When used, it often appears in formal writing or specific contexts discussing bitterness, either literal (taste) or figurative (emotion).

Verb

1. make sour or bitter
2. cause to be bitter or resentful
   • These injustices embittered her even more