What does acidic mean?
Word: Acidic
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Acidic means containing acid, or having the sharp, sour taste of acid.
Synonyms: sour
Antonyms: alkaline
Word origin: From acid, which goes back to the Latin word acidus.
How do you spell acidic?
Syllables: a - cid - ic
Tricky part: The s sound after the first a comes from a c, so asidic is the usual slip.
Watch out for: asidic, assidic, accidic
Memory tip: Citrus fruit is the classic example, and citrus starts with the same soft c that follows the a here.
Acidic in a sentence
Example 1: Tea bushes grow well on the slightly acidic soil of the Assam hills.
Example 2: The tomato chutney tasted too acidic until Dadi stirred in some jaggery.
Example 3: Rainwater is naturally a little acidic, because it dissolves carbon dioxide from the air.
Fun Fact
The juices in your stomach are strongly acidic, with a pH that can drop to about 1.5, lower than that of lemon juice.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Fusion
Read the clue and choose the two parts that make the word:
__________ means having a pH below 7. 1. acid 2. alkal 3. sal 4. ox 5. ic 6. ine 7. ide 8. ous
a) 3 and 8
b) 2 and 6
c) 4 and 7
d) 1 and 5
Show answer
d) 1 and 5. Alkaline and oxide are real words as well, but neither describes a pH below 7.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
A liquid that turns blue litmus red is described as ___.
a) acidic
b) soluble
c) neutral
d) saline
Show answer
a) acidic. Blue litmus reddens only in a substance with a low pH.
Spellacadabra
Which word takes the same letter in both blanks?
a) ac_d_c
b) org_n_c
c) dom_st_c
d) met_ll_c
Show answer
a) ac_d_c. The other three need two different vowels: metallic, domestic and organic.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ci' pronounced differently?
a) special
b) facility
c) acidic
d) decimal
Show answer
a) special. In special these letters make a sh sound; in the other three the c is soft and the i is short.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is most likely to be acidic?
a) a bowl of soapy water
b) a glass of tamarind water
c) a cup of pure distilled water
d) a spoon of baking soda in water
Show answer
b) a glass of tamarind water
2. A farmer finds that a field has become too acidic for the crop. What would he most likely spread on it?
a) lemon peel
b) sour milk
c) crushed limestone
d) white vinegar
Show answer
c) crushed limestone
