acrid

/ˈæk.ɹɪd/

//ˈæk.ɹɪd// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"acrid" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“acrid” is uncommon English (frequency #61,248 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,248
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste.

Corpus desk

Index EN-acrid · acrid · English

acrid · rank #61,248 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,248
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Acevedo

Nearest frequency peer: Acevedo (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “acrid”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “acrid” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for acrid
PropertyValue
Headwordacrid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈæk.ɹɪd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#61,248
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “acrid” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).acridfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Acevedo” (#61,247), “acculturation” (#61,246), “agg” (#61,250). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “acrid” is #61,248. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

acrid is uncommon English at frequency #61,248 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈæk.ɹɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for acrid, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin ācris, from ācer (“sharp”); probably assimilated in form to acid. Compare eager. The correct English form is acrid, spelled A-C-R-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste.
  2. 2
    Causing heat and irritation.
  3. 3
    Caustic; bitter; bitterly irritating.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how acrid appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. At that instant, Eragon's back ruptured in an explosion of agony so intense, he experienced it with all five senses: as a deafening, crashing waterfall of sound; a metallic taste that coated his tongue; an acrid, eye-watering stench in his nostrils, redolent of vinegar; pulsing colors; and, above all, the feeling that Durza had just laid open his back.
  2. Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundr…

Etymology

From Latin ācris, from ācer (“sharp”); probably assimilated in form to acid. Compare eager.

This word in other languages

acre(Español)âcre(Français)stechend(Deutsch)acre(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "acrid"?
"acrid" is spelled A-C-R-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæk.ɹɪd/.
What does "acrid" mean?
As an adjective, "acrid" means: Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste.
How do you pronounce "acrid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acrid" is /ˈæk.ɹɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "acrid"?
From Latin ācris, from ācer (“sharp”); probably assimilated in form to acid. Compare eager. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "acrid", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Ajayi#61,253yknow#61,228Arima#61,277webby#61,214

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list