Question

why is phenol more acidic than methanol?

Answer 1

phenol is more acidic because of the benzene ring present in the molecule

Answer 2

Actual bonding within the aromatic ring can best be considered as represented by the usual canonical resonance structures, essentially the C to C bonding is SP2 hybridised. The bonds between SP2 hybridised carbons tend to exhibit an inductive effect to a greater degree than SP3 bonds which are found in saturated structures like methanol or TBA, and this allows the an oxygen anion from the -OH group in phenol to be more readily stabilised, and more easily formed. As a result, the -OH group more readily loses it's proton, and phenol is therefore more acidic than the saturated aliphatic alcohols.