acrimonious

adjective

ac·​ri·​mo·​ni·​ous ˌa-krə-ˈmō-nē-əs How to pronounce acrimonious (audio)
: angry and bitter : caustic, biting, or rancorous especially in feeling, language, or manner
an acrimonious dispute
acrimoniously adverb
acrimoniousness noun

Examples of acrimonious in a Sentence

Each man came out of their acrimonious 200-meter showdown on July 23 with an injured hamstring and a decidedly negative vibe. Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated, 11 Sept. 2000
My May 19, 1967, memorandum to the president unleashed a storm of controversy.  … It led to tense and acrimonious Senate hearings that pitted me against the Joint Chiefs of Staff and generated rumors they intended to resign en masse. Robert McNamara, In Retrospect, 1995
But considering the momentousness of the issue, the original Darwinian debate was far less acrimonious than might have been expected … Gertrude Himmelfarb, American Scholar, Autumn 1981
We could tell, however, when debate became more acrimonious than professional, but this was from watching lawyers other than our father. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960
He went through an acrimonious divorce. an acrimonious parting between the two former friends
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Defense spending Trump’s relationship with the Western military alliance was acrimonious during his first presidency, with the Republican leader frequently lambasting NATO member states for not abiding by a 2014 target to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense every year. Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2025 But this weekend’s convention has the dual purpose of selling the 2025 Cubs and rebooting the Sosa legend after an acrimonious ending in 2004. Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025 Gaiman and Palmer reconciled in 2021 but soon split again and have been locked in acrimonious divorce proceedings ever since. Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025 The acrimonious split from Shaneen also featured Jabbar breaking with his own laywer. Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 2 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for acrimonious 

Word History

Etymology

acrimony + -ous

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of acrimonious was in 1651

Dictionary Entries Near acrimonious

Cite this Entry

“Acrimonious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acrimonious. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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