corrosive

American  

[kuh-roh-siv] / kəˈroʊ sɪv /

adjective

1. having the quality of corroding or eating away; erosive.

2. harmful or destructive; deleterious.

   the corrosive effect of poverty on their marriage.

3. sharply sarcastic; caustic.

   corrosive comments on the speaker's integrity.

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noun

1. something corrosive, as an acid or drug.

corrosive British  

/ kəˈrəʊsɪv /

adjective

1. (esp of acids or alkalis) capable of destroying solid materials

2. tending to eat away or consume

3. cutting; sarcastic

   a corrosive remark

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noun

1. a corrosive substance, such as a strong acid or alkali

Other Word Forms

• corrosively adverb
• corrosiveness noun
• corrosivity noun
• noncorrosive adjective
• noncorrosively adverb
• noncorrosiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of corrosive

1350–1400; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Medieval Latin corrōsīvus, equivalent to Latin corrōs ( us ) ( corrosion ) + -īvus -ive; replacing Middle English corosif < Middle French < Latin as above

Explanation

A corrosive substance, like hydrochloric acid, will eat away most things on which it is spilled. Watch out in chemistry lab: you wouldn't want to destroy your homework, desk, or worse, your own skin by spilling something corrosive on it. The word corrosive comes from the Latin word, corrodere, meaning "to gnaw away." Rodere (to gnaw) is the same root word for rodent, so you can remember the word corrosive because something that is corrosive gnaws through things like a rodent. The adjective corrosive is also used to describe something that is bitingly or spitefully sarcastic. If you're known for your corrosive wit, you probably don't win any popularity contests.

Example Sentences

There are now more than a dozen similar bills winding through statehouses from Olympia, Wash., to Albany, N.Y., as legislators try to rein in a practice the majority of Americans see as dangerous and corrosive.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026

Salt also damages buildings, vehicles and other objects, she said, and presents "a problem for animals. Pet owners notice it on their paws. It's simply corrosive."

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

I’ve always felt that engagement is better and more corrosive to a dictatorship than isolating them… Secret police never go hungry, armies never go hungry.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026

A connoisseur of Western literature, the supreme leader has a pretty good grasp of how alluring and corrosive Occidental ideas and manners can be.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

The clinging, overpowering conviction of death spread steadily with the continuing rainfall, soaking mordantly into each man’s ailing countenance like the corrosive blot of some crawling disease.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• acerbic
• caustic
• destructive
• incisive
• trenchant