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View synonyms for caustic

caustic

[ kaw-stik ]

adjective

  1. capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue.
  2. severely critical or sarcastic:

    a caustic remark.

    Synonyms: acid, scathing, bitter, mordant, biting



noun

  1. a caustic substance.
  2. Optics.

caustic

/ ˈkɔːstɪk; kɔːˈstɪsɪtɪ /

adjective

  1. capable of burning or corroding by chemical action

    caustic soda

  2. sarcastic; cutting

    a caustic reply

  3. of, relating to, or denoting light that is reflected or refracted by a curved surface
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. Also calledcaustic surface a surface that envelops the light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface
  2. Also calledcaustic curve a curve formed by the intersection of a caustic surface with a plane
  3. chem a caustic substance, esp an alkali
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • causticity, noun
  • ˈcaustical, adjective
  • ˈcaustically, adverb
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Other Words From

  • causti·cal·ly caustic·ly adverb
  • caus·tic·i·ty [kaw-, stis, -i-tee], caustic·ness noun
  • non·caustic adjective
  • non·causti·cal·ly adverb
  • over·caustic adjective
  • over·causti·cal·ly adverb
  • over·caus·tici·ty noun
  • un·caustic adjective
  • un·causti·cal·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of caustic1

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin causticus < Greek kaustikós burning, caustic, equivalent to kaust ( ós ) burnt (verbal adjective of kaíein to burn) + -ikos -ic
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Word History and Origins

Origin of caustic1

C14: from Latin causticus, from Greek kaustikos, from kaiein to burn
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Example Sentences

These are endeavors one would be unlikely to attempt without a space to screw things up or spill caustic liquids or explode an engine or two without ruining your carpet.

Like many of the project’s most caustic tracks, it’s almost certainly about Jonas, who really just continues to be a disappointment.

On state media, the usual array of caustic language were on full display.

From Quartz

Running the gamut from unpacking the shame she felt growing up as the daughter of Korean immigrants to deconstructing her identification with the uncomfortable, caustic comedy of Richard Pryor, Hong’s essays are at once candid, complex and gutting.

From Time

The caustic electrolyte in conventional zinc-air batteries can also degrade the cathode and anode.

Why do you think that until know you have been cast as the caustic wife in other pieces?

Her father left his entire £2 million fortune to his brother, explaining his decision in a caustic rider to his will.

When his companion reacts to his confession with a caustic joke, he says, confused, “So it makes a difference does it?”

Perhaps the most caustic anti-Republican riff came from Al Gore.

And she does it all with caustic wit and some less-than-charming winking.

Amorphous urates are readily soluble in caustic soda solutions.

Crystals of calcium oxalate are insoluble in acetic acid or caustic soda.

This I attribute to the potash being in a little more caustic condition than when recrystallised with iodine.

Page after page—full of caustic satire, humorous sally and profound epigram—fairly bristles with merriment.

Mr. Stanley replied in a speech of caustic severity, which the agitators of Ireland have never forgotten or forgiven.

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