Recent Examples on the WebScientists insist that climate change has acerbated already ripe conditions for calamitous fires, while critics have contended that such devastation is nothing new to the Australian landscape.—Fox News, 17 Jan. 2020 The goal: Not acerbating people's financial problems.—Sharon Coolidge, Cincinnati.com, 23 Oct. 2019 Airlines say the current rule is acerbating a pilot shortage that has caused some regional carriers to cancel flights.—Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acerbate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Latin acerbātus, past participle of acerbāre "to make bitter or disagreeable, worsen, aggravate," verbal derivative of acerbus "sour, bitter, grievous" — more at acerb
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