/ əˈstrɪndʒənt; NAmE / adjective , noun
■ adjective
1.
( technical ) ( of a liquid or cream ) able to make the skin feel less oily or to stop the loss of blood from a cut
2.
( formal ) critical in a severe or clever way :
astringent writers / comments
3.
( formal ) ( of a taste or smell ) slightly bitter but fresh :
the astringent taste of lemon juice
► astrin·gency / -ənsi; NAmE / noun [ U ]
■ noun
a liquid or cream used in cosmetics or medicine to make the skin less oily or to stop the loss of blood from a cut
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent.: from French , from Latin astringent- pulling tight, from the verb astringere , from ad- towards + stringere bind, pull tight.