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Glite Dictionary
to acidulate

to acidulate

1 9.4
Make something slightly sour by adding lemon or vinegar
  • verb
  • /əˈsɪdʒʊˌleɪt/
  • Specialized
: acidular
  • acidulated water

Examples

  • It's hard not to be familiar with the term Big Pharma, an acidulated nickname for the pharmaceutical business.

    Academic text (2016)

  • To maintain their vibrant color, place the vegetables in acidulated water during preparation.

  • Adding a splash of vinegar will acidulate the mixture, enhancing its flavor.

  • To prevent browning, keep the sliced apples in acidulated water with lemon juice.

Synonyms

to sour
vsto acidulate
23 3.4

Become bad in taste or become upset

describes only a slight increase in tartness not full spoilage
to acidify
vsto acidulate
2 6.1

To make something more acidic or sour

means only a slight rise in acidity or mild taste change
to acerbate
vsto acidulate
1 9.9

To make a taste, situation, or feeling more bitter

means a small acidity increase, not creating bitterness or strong resentment
to acetify
vsto acidulate
9.9

To become sour and change into vinegar

refers to a gentle acid change rather than full fermentation

Antonyms

to neutralize
  • Specialized
6 5.8

To make an acid or other chemical safe by a reaction

How Acidic

to acidify
2 6.1
to acidulate
  • Specialized
1 9.4

Surface Forms

acidulate infinitive
acidulated past
acidulated past participle
acidulating present participle
acidulates third person singular

Morphology

acidulate = acid (transparent) = acid + ulate

The verb is a regular formation from 'acid' with the productive verbalizing suffix '-ulate', meaning 'to make slightly acidic'.

Etymology

The word acidulate comes from the familiar word acid, which means 'sour', plus a word ending -ulate that means 'to make' or 'become'. So to acidulate something is to make it a little sour or slightly acidic, like adding lemon or vinegar to water.