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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.
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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

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

How to use caustic in a sentence

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
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