acidulous

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/əˈsɪdjʊləs//əˈsɪd͡ʒələs/

adjective

Slightly sour; subacid; sourish.

“acidulous mineral waters”

Similar
acidicacidacidulentsour
OriginLatin acidulus →
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Meanings

adjective
  1. Slightly sour; subacid; sourish.

    the hard, acidulous, metallic tincture of the spring

    1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, […], London: […] J. Owen, […], and F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC
  2. figurativelySharp; caustic.

    He talked with acidulous tolerance of the exalted personages who had sent Ashenden to X.

    1931, William Somerset Maugham, His Excellency
  3. Containing carbonic acid.

    acidulous mineral waters

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivebeing sour to the taste

Similar
acidicacidacidulentsour
Also see
acidacidicacidulent

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinacidulus“sourish, acidulous”
  2. Englishacidulous

Learned borrowing from Latin acidulus (“sourish, acidulous”), diminutive of acidus (“sour, acid”). See acid. By surface analysis, acid + -ule + -ous.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian възкисел
  • възкисел (văzkisel)slightly sour
Finnish happamahko
  • happamahkoslightly sour
French acidulé
  • aciduléslightly sour
German säuerlich
  • säuerlichslightly sour
Latin acidulus
  • acidulusslightly sour
Norwegian Bokmål syrlig
  • syrligslightly sour
Portuguese acídulo
  • acíduloslightly sour
Cite this entry
APA

acidulous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acidulous

MLA

“acidulous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acidulous. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “acidulous,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acidulous.

Source: acidulous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.