acidic
adjective
Simple meaning
Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhsidikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈsɪdɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Being or containing an acid; of a solution having an excess of hydrogen atoms (having a pH of less than 7)
Of or relating to acid; having the character of an acid.
chemistry
Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red.
petrology
Containing a high percentage of silica-bearing minerals; opposed to basic.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Being or containing an acid; of a solution having an excess of hydrogen atoms (having a pH of less than 7)
'Acidic' describes something that has the properties of an acid, often relating to pH level or a sour taste. It's the adjective form of 'acid' and is frequently used to describe soil, food, or chemical solutions. It is the opposite of 'alkaline' or 'basic.'
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Gardening advice
“Some plants prefer acidic soil to grow best.”
Cooking/Food science
“The tomato sauce was too acidic; it needed more sugar.”
Chemistry lab
“We tested the solution and confirmed it was highly acidic.”
Nearby words
- acidulous , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Containing carbonic acid.
Tasting of acidity.
Having an acid quality.
Yielding an acid in aqueous solution.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A hydrogen atom in an acid that forms a positive ion when the acid dissociates.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Thriving in a relatively acidic environment (especially of plants requiring a pH well below 7).
An indicator that changes color on going from acidic to basic solutions.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.