caustic

[ kaw-stik ]

/ ˈkɔ stɪk /

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See synonyms for: caustic / caustically / causticity / causticness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue.

severely critical or sarcastic: a caustic remark.

noun

a caustic substance.

Optics.

OTHER WORDS FOR caustic

2 biting, mordant, bitter, scathing, acid.

See synonyms for caustic on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of caustic

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

OTHER WORDS FROM caustic

caus·ti·cal·ly, caus·tic·ly, adverbcaus·tic·i·ty

[kaw-stis-i-tee], /kɔˈstɪs ɪ ti/, caus·tic·ness, nounnon·caus·tic, adjectivenon·caus·ti·cal·ly, adverb

o·ver·caus·tic, adjectiveo·ver·caus·ti·cal·ly, adverbo·ver·caus·tic·i·ty, nounun·caus·tic, adjectiveun·caus·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby caustic

causerie, causeuse, causeway, causey, causist, caustic, caustic alcohol, caustic curve, caustic lime, caustic potash, caustic soda

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use caustic in a sentence

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.
In Praise of Garages|ckeyes|July 20, 2021|Outside Online
Like many of the project’s most caustic tracks, it’s almost certainly about Jonas, who really just continues to be a disappointment.
Taylor Swift’s new take on ‘Fearless’ piles on the nostalgia, along with some revenge|Allison Stewart|April 12, 2021|Washington Post
On state media, the usual array of caustic language were on full display.
Xinjiang cotton could portend a US-China consumer decoupling|Mary Hui|March 25, 2021|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.
A Reading List to Celebrate Asian Authors, From Members of TIME's Asian Community|Karena Phan|March 24, 2021|Time

The caustic electrolyte in conventional zinc-air batteries can also degrade the cathode and anode.
Zinc-air batteries are typically single-use. A new design could change that|Maria Temming|January 5, 2021|Science News
Why do you think that until know you have been cast as the caustic wife in other pieces?
‘Surviving Jack’ Star Rachael Harris Is No Longer ‘The Bitch'|Kevin Fallon|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her father left his entire £2 million fortune to his brother, explaining his decision in a caustic rider to his will.
The Week in Death: Clarissa Dickson Wright, One of ‘Two Fat Ladies’|The Telegraph|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When his companion reacts to his confession with a caustic joke, he says, confused, “So it makes a difference does it?”
The Laboratory of Real Life in Caryl Churchill’s “Love and Information”|Liesl Schillinger|February 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps the most caustic anti-Republican riff came from Al Gore.
Please Don’t Compare House Republicans to Iran or Syria, OK?|Michelle Cottle|October 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And she does it all with caustic wit and some less-than-charming winking.
Lucille Bluth’s Best Mothering Moments in ‘Arrested Development’ (VIDEO)|Jean Trinh|May 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Amorphous urates are readily soluble in caustic soda solutions.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Crystals of calcium oxalate are insoluble in acetic acid or caustic soda.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
This I attribute to the potash being in a little more caustic condition than when recrystallised with iodine.
Notes and Queries, Number 177, March 19, 1853|Various
Page after page—full of caustic satire, humorous sally and profound epigram—fairly bristles with merriment.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Mr. Stanley replied in a speech of caustic severity, which the agitators of Ireland have never forgotten or forgiven.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan

British Dictionary definitions for caustic

caustic

/ (ˈkɔːstɪk) /

adjective

capable of burning or corroding by chemical actioncaustic soda

sarcastic; cuttinga caustic reply

of, relating to, or denoting light that is reflected or refracted by a curved surface

noun

Also called: caustic surface a surface that envelops the light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface

Also called: caustic curve a curve formed by the intersection of a caustic surface with a plane

chem a caustic substance, esp an alkali

Derived forms of caustic

caustical, adjectivecaustically, adverbcausticity (kɔːˈstɪsɪtɪ) or causticness, noun

Word Origin for caustic

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

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

caustic

OTHER WORDS FOR caustic

Origin of caustic

OTHER WORDS FROM caustic

Words nearby caustic

Words related to caustic

How to use caustic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for caustic

Derived forms of caustic

Word Origin for caustic