How to Use acrid in a Sentence

acrid

adjective
  • Thick, acrid smoke rose from the factory.
  • Miles away from the fires, the smoke still left an acrid taste in my mouth.
    — New York Times, 11 Aug. 2021
  • The sky was a grey haze, and the acrid air stings the back of the throat.
    — Joseph Serna, latimes.com, 11 Dec. 2017
  • Day turned to night as thick, acrid clouds blackened the sky.
    — Robert Wyss, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The dots soon became acrid splotches of oil.
    — Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
  • The video snippet left an acrid taste in some people’s mouths.
    — Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025
  • The air was thick with smoke and the acrid scent of burning oil and metal.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN, 7 Dec. 2024
  • An acrid smoke wafted over the courtyard, and shards of glass lay about.
    — Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The acrid smoke hung in the air, flames threatened still from a little ways down his street.
    — Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025
  • My house was fine — lots of soot and ash, even inside, and the smell inside was acrid.
    — Katherine Turman, People.com, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Two helicopters flew above the acrid smoke that sent crowds running.
    — Nadine Achoui-Lesage, The Seattle Times, 12 Apr. 2019
  • The air won’t stop filling with acrid smoke, and the sky has turned from blue to an eerie orange.
    — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
  • Bemused tourists attempt to shuffle through the acrid red and blue flare smoke.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 18 May 2025
  • Clouds of steam rose into the sky and the acrid odor of sulfur dioxide filled the air.
    — Author: Sarah Kaplan, Anchorage Daily News, 4 May 2018
  • The space, normally sweet with incense, was acrid with ash and stale smoke.
    — Christa Lesté-Lasserre, Science | AAAS, 12 Mar. 2020
  • The acrid smoke favors black over brown on the outside, tan over red on the inside.
    — Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Mar. 2018
  • Namely, a harsh, acrid taste, and any kind of cloying sweetness.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 May 2025
  • Amid the acrid tire smoke and rock music, Lynne Fry walked around with pride.
    — Michael E. Miller, Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2023
  • The air was stagnant with the lingering, acrid smell of smoke, rot, and death.
    — Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
  • Schaich says oil at this stage tastes a little acrid, grassy and rancid—almost burned.
    — Tarah Knaresboro, Popular Mechanics, 2 Feb. 2015
  • Oxidation is one of the main things that makes old coffee taste stale and acrid.
    — Matthew Korfhage, WIRED, 6 Dec. 2024
  • The child inhaled a draft of acrid gas that set off a rasping cough and watering eyes.
    — Declan Walsh, New York Times, 16 May 2018
  • Men melt the metal over open fires to make ingots, sending acrid smoke into the air.
    — Larry C. Price, National Geographic, 31 May 2016
  • The crust tasted bitter and acrid too—a flop all around, really.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Residents here say the wind blew acrid smoke into their homes and coated their cars with a fine ash.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN, 2 Mar. 2023
  • The earth itself comes apart, and from its depths blast fiery molten rock, acrid gas, and towering plumes of ash.
    — Umair Irfan, Vox, 11 May 2018
  • Smoke coated the back of their throats and clogged their nostrils with the acrid smell of melting plastic.
    — Julia Shipley, WIRED, 13 Jan. 2024
  • There was no acrid flavor and the middle was a perfect medium throughout the steak.
    — Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 July 2023
  • As residents trickled out into the night, an acrid smell hung in the air outside.
    — Maya Dukmasova, Chicago Reader, 11 May 2018
  • An acrid miasma emanates from the pan in which the detritus sits.
    — Robert Hackett, Fortune, 24 May 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acrid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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