acerbo, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. id. (vox Vergil.). To make harsh or bitter, to embitter; lit. and trop. (very rare): gaudia, Stat. Th. 12, 75: mortem, Val. Fl. 6, 655.

— Hence in an extended sense, To augment or aggravate any thing disagreeable (cf. acuo): formidine crimen acerbat, Verg. A. 11, 407: nefas Eteoclis, Stat. Th. 3, 214.