caustic

[ kaw-stik ]

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.
- caustic curve.
- caustic surface.

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 for caustic

2	biting, mordant, bitter, scathing, acid

See synonyms for caustic on Thesaurus.com

Other words from caustic

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

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

How to use caustic in a sentence

But I am very far from thinking that the causticity of quick-lime is at all owing to this circumstance.
Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air | Joseph Priestley
The one represented the strength and goodness of the people, the other its turbulence and causticity.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 398, December 1848 | Various
"Well, I suppose we must pity his errors," observed Miss Patty, with some causticity.
That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 1(of 3) | Frances Eleanor Trollope
I know it will be all sense for the church, and all causticity for schism.
Shirley | Charlotte Bront
"We must simply marry as soon as possible; to-morrow, if necessary," said Bernard, with some causticity.
Confidence | Henry James

British Dictionary definitions for caustic

caustic

/ (ˈkɔːstɪk) /

adjective

capable of burning or corroding by chemical action: caustic soda
sarcastic; cutting: a 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

Origin of caustic

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

Derived forms of caustic

caustical, adjective
caustically, adverb
causticity (kɔːˈstɪsɪtɪ) or causticness, noun

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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