| 3. | virulent - harsh or corrosive in tone; "an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid comments"; "her acrid remarks make her many enemies"; "bitter words"; "blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"; "a sulfurous denunciation"acid, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, vitriolic, venomous, acrid, acerb, acerbic, bitter unpleasant - not pleasant; "an unpleasant personality"; "unpleasant repercussions"; "unpleasant odors" | |