Acrimonious means harsh, bitter or caustic in tone or character. It describes a situation where there is animosity and hostility between people or groups, often involving angry exchanges or disagreements.
Conflict within families and the effects of acrimonious divorces on children impacts our entire community. (springfieldcollaborativedivorce.com)
This was just the opening round of what is likely to be a long series of acrimonious debates over policy at the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, on topics including sexual harassment, affirmative action, instruction of English language learners and school discipline — even on who might head the agency. (educationnext.org)
So while the Amber Alert is very helpful in certain types of kidnappings, i.e. parental situations in acrimonious divorces, it's not good in cases like Polly's or cases like Elizabeth Smart's or Adam Walsh, or so many of the other iconic cases that we now know about. (kidsinthehouse.com)