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Acerbic vs Brusque - What's the difference?

acerbic | brusque |

As adjectives the difference between acerbic and brusque

is that acerbic is tasting sour or bitter while brusque is rudely abrupt, unfriendly.

acerbic

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Tasting sour or bitter.
  • * 1998 Aug. 5, Dr. Peter Gott, " Can inhaler cause addiction?," Catoosa County News (retrieved 19 Sep 2009):
    • Those consumers who object to the acerbic taste of garlic can purchase de-odorized garlic or allicin extract.
  • Sharp, harsh, biting.
  • * 1986 Sept. 22, " West Germany: Last Taunts From the Lip," Time (retrieved 25 Apr 2014):
    • Supercompetent, superconfident and supercritical, Schmidt is a gifted orator whose acerbic wit earned him the nickname "Schmidt the Lip."
  • * 2005 May 5, Jay Mathews, "Don't Fire This Professor," Washington Post , p. T6:
    • [H]e is one of the most acerbic people in his field, quick to take offense and not shy about telling people with whom he disagrees how much he thinks they have failed in thought and action.

    Synonyms

    * (sour or bitter) acerb, acrid * acrid, scathing

    Anagrams

    *

    brusque

    English

    Alternative forms

    * brusk

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Rudely abrupt, unfriendly.
  • * 1858 , , Dr Thorne , ch. 3:
    • He was brusque , authoritative, given to contradiction, rough though never dirty in his personal belongings, and inclined to indulge in a sort of quiet raillery.

    Quotations

    *

    Related terms

    * brusquely * brusqueness

    References

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