How to Use acrimonious in a Sentence

acrimonious

adjective
  • He went through an acrimonious divorce.
  • Hill and her husband are in the midst of an acrimonious divorce.
    — Maryclaire Dale, SFChronicle.com, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Mitani and Sandel think the group’s size might have played a role in the acrimonious split.
    — Evan Bush, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
  • And yet this call turned out to be far more acrimonious than the one with Peña Nieto.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2017
  • Margaret and Tony will have a very public, very acrimonious, very lengthy breakup.
    — Emma Dibdin, Town & Country, 14 Dec. 2017
  • Parting with the Oilers wasn’t on acrimonious terms by any means.
    — Eric Stephens, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
  • The two sides have engaged in a very public and acrimonious fight with billions of dollars at stake on each side.
    — Tim Higgins, WSJ, 15 Nov. 2022
  • The divorce description is apt as the whole thing reads as a pretty acrimonious breakup.
    — Ash Parrish, The Verge, 23 Jan. 2023
  • Was the lawsuit, the acrimonious hearings, the trial all worth it?
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 11 Dec. 2025
  • The punitive part of the process became largely acrimonious, sources said.
    — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2022
  • Or will the two finally split in an acrimonious battle of the Lodges?
    — Ella Cerón, Teen Vogue, 7 Nov. 2018
  • And while the talks were tough at moments, the meetings were not entirely acrimonious.
    — Kevin Liptak, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2026
  • An acrimonious fight between the city and labor unions followed.
    — Mark Davidson, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2023
  • The end of his first go-around in Salt Lake City could be described as acrimonious.
    — Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 June 2021
  • So, a new and acrimonious problem is created before the last problem was put to bed.
    — Bryce Miller Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2022
  • Cosby’s conviction concludes an acrimonious case that played out in the courtroom and in the press.
    — Jen Kirby, Vox, 26 Apr. 2018
  • Before a caseworker showed up at her house, emotions were running high, and talks had turned acrimonious.
    — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Dayveon has an acrimonious bark, and his walls are painted with a red as hard as his Blood initiation wardrobe.
    — Tonja Renée Stidhum, The Root, 20 Sep. 2017
  • You’re now locked into to what can be a very acrimonious process with a player who is essential to your present and near-term future.
    — Tony Blengino, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023
  • There’s lots of pleasantly acrimonious banter, much of it in French.
    — Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2024
  • All-Pro joined the Chiefs after a rather acrimonious split with the Jets a couple weeks ago.
    — Mark Heim | [email protected], al, 1 Nov. 2020
  • But Thursday brought a far more acrimonious and personal tone to the exchanges.
    — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 5 June 2025
  • Their split quickly turned acrimonious.
    — Janelle Ash , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2025
  • But after an acrimonious split in 1991, the two didn't speak to one another for nine years.
    — CBS News, 17 Feb. 2022
  • They were involved in an acrimonious split that ended in divorce in 2016.
    — Patrick Danner, San Antonio Express-News, 29 Apr. 2021
  • The announcement put Walgreens at the center of one of the city’s most acrimonious debates.
    — Rachel Swan, Danielle Echevarria, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Oct. 2021
  • The victims had the bad luck of being pitted against Leasure’s friends in acrimonious divorces.
    — Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2024
  • The case went to court in early 1976, and the proceedings were acrimonious.
    — Connie Bruck, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2018
  • While the business seemed to work for a time, the two sides had an acrimonious split last year when Sephora hopped over to Kohl’s, ending the deal.
    — Tiffany Ap, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2022
  • Marner’s acrimonious departure hung over the Leafs toward the end of last season.
    — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acrimonious.' 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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