Nearby Words
adjective
1.
capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue.
2.
severely critical or sarcastic: a caustic remark.
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Caustic
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is volatile. Does it mean:
| person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art |
| tending or threatening to break out into open violence; changeable or mercurial |
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin causticus < Greek kaustikós burning, caustic, equivalent to kaust(ós) burnt (verbal adjective of kaíein to burn) + -ikos -ic
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin causticus < Greek kaustikós burning, caustic, equivalent to kaust(ós) burnt (verbal adjective of kaíein to burn) + -ikos -ic
Related forms
caus·ti·cal·ly, caus·tic·ly, adverb
non·caus·tic, adjective
non·caus·ti·cal·ly, adverb
o·ver·caus·tic, adjective
EXPANDo·ver·caus·ti·cal·ly, adverb
o·ver·caus·tic·i·ty, noun
un·caus·tic, adjective
un·caus·ti·cal·ly, adverb
COLLAPSESynonyms
2. biting, mordant, bitter, scathing, acid.
2. biting, mordant, bitter, scathing, acid.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To caustic
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
caustic
1550s, from O.Fr. caustique, from L. causticus, from Gk. kaustikos "capable of burning," from kaustos "combustible," from kaiein, the Gk. word for "to burn" in all periods, of uncertain origin with no known cognates outside Gk. Figurative sense of "sarcastic" is attested from 1771.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
caustic caus·tic (kô'stĭk)
n.
A hydroxide of a light metal.
A caustic material or substance.
Capable of burning, corroding, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action.
Of or relating to light emitted from a point source and reflected or refracted from a curved surface.
Causing a burning or stinging sensation.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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