acrimonious

/ˌæk.ɹɪˈməʊ.nɪ.əs/

//ˌæk.ɹɪˈməʊ.nɪ.əs// adj

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

"acrimonious" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“acrimonious” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #49,751. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,751
frequency rank, English
35,202
“A” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Harsh and sharp, or bitter and not pleasant to the taste; acrid, pungent.

Key facts for acrimonious
PropertyValue
Headwordacrimonious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌæk.ɹɪˈməʊ.nɪ.əs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#49,751
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “acrimonious” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). acrimonious lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around acrimonious (IPA /ˌæk.ɹɪˈməʊ.nɪ.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #49,751 among 35,202 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for acrimonious, with forms such as "accrimonious", "acirmonious", and "acrimmonious". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From acrimony + -ous; compare French acrimonieux (“acrimonious”), from Latin ācrimōniōsus (“acrimonious”), from ācrimōnia (“pungency, sharpness; acrimony, austerity”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning “full of; prone to”, forming adjectives from nouns) (ultimately fr… The correct English form is acrimonious, spelled A-C-R-I-M-O-N-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Harsh and sharp, or bitter and not pleasant to the taste; acrid, pungent.
  2. 2
    Angry, acid, and sharp in delivering argumentative replies: bitter, mean-spirited, sharp in language or tone.

Etymology

From acrimony + -ous; compare French acrimonieux (“acrimonious”), from Latin ācrimōniōsus (“acrimonious”), from ācrimōnia (“pungency, sharpness; acrimony, austerity”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning “full of; prone to”, forming adjectives from nouns) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-went- or *-wont- + *-to-). Ācrimōnia is derived from Latin ācer (“sharp; bitter, sour”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱrós (“sharp”), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) + *-rós (suffix forming adjectives from Caland system roots)) + Latin -mōnia (the feminine form of -mōnium (suffix forming collective nouns and nouns designating legal status or obligation), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-mō (suffix forming agent nouns from verbs)).

Synonyms

acerbacerbicacridbitterrancorous

Antonyms

nonacrimonious

This word in other languages

áspero(Español)acrimonieux(Français)erbittert(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • accrimonious
  • acirmonious
  • acrimmonious
  • acrimnoious
  • acrimoinous
  • acrimoniosu
  • acrimoniouss
  • acrimoniuos
  • acrimonnious
  • acrimonoius
  • acriomnious
  • acrmionious
  • acrrimonious
  • arcimonious
  • carimonious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of acrimonious - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

accrimonious1acirmonious2acrimmonious1acrimnoious2acrimoinous2acrimoniosu2acrimoniouss1acrimoniuos2
Edit distance from "acrimonious"

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 "acrimonious"?
"acrimonious" is spelled A-C-R-I-M-O-N-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæk.ɹɪˈməʊ.nɪ.əs/.
What does "acrimonious" mean?
As an adjective, "acrimonious" means: Harsh and sharp, or bitter and not pleasant to the taste; acrid, pungent.
What are common misspellings of "acrimonious"?
Common misspellings include "accrimonious", "acirmonious", "acrimmonious", "acrimnoious", "acrimoinous". The correct spelling is "acrimonious".
How do you pronounce "acrimonious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acrimonious" is /ˌæk.ɹɪˈməʊ.nɪ.əs/. 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 "acrimonious"?
From acrimony + -ous; compare French acrimonieux (“acrimonious”), from Latin ācrimōniōsus (“acrimonious”), from ācrimōnia (“pungency, sharpness; acrimony, austerity”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning “full of; prone to”, forming adjectives from nouns) (ult... 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.

Using “acrimonious”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-C-R-I-M-O-N-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌæk.ɹɪˈməʊ.nɪ.əs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list