Thus, the carboxylate ion is more stabilised than phenoxide
ion,  so carboxylic acids are more acidic than phenols Effect of substituents on the acidity of carboxylic acids:
Substituents may affect the stability of the conjugate base and thus,
also affect the acidity of the carboxylic acids Electron withdrawing
groups increase the acidity of carboxylic acids by stabilising the
conjugate base through delocalisation of the negative charge by
inductive and/or resonance effects Conversely, electron donating groups
decrease the acidity by destabilising the conjugate base