acidulous
slightly sour in taste or manner; sharp or cutting in tone
Word origin: From Latin acidulus, slightly sour, diminutive of acidus sour.
Acidulous in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing acidulous in a sentence.
Her acidulous remarks about the proposal silenced the rest of the committee.
Her acidulous reply to the committee, all sweetness curdled into sourness, ended the discussion abruptly.
Quick GRE check
3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?
Verbal · Text Completion
Critics initially dismissed the composer's late works as merely blank, but later scholars recognized in them a deliberate restraint that concealed considerable technical sophistication.
Using “acidulous” well
Acidulous carries a double sense: slightly sour in taste and sharply cutting in manner. The slightly qualifies it; the sourness is mild but unmistakable, unlike outright caustic venom.
More GRE words starting with A
to lower in rank, dignity, or self-respect
to make someone feel embarrassed or ashamed
to lessen in intensity or amount
to formally give up power or responsibility
departing from what is normal or expected
a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected
a state of temporary suspension or inactivity
to regard with strong disgust or hatred
Questions about “acidulous”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.