caustic
Use Caustic in a sentence
stɪk adjective
1.
capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue.
2.
severely critical or sarcastic: a caustic remark.
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
o·ver·caus·ti·cal·ly, adverb
o·ver·caus·tic·i·ty, noun
un·caus·tic, adjective
un·caus·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Synonyms
2. biting, mordant, bitter, scathing, acid.
2. biting, mordant, bitter, scathing, acid.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To caustic
00:10
Caustic
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is accolade. Does it mean:
| talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous: |
| any award, honor, or laudatory notice: |
Collins
World English Dictionary
caustic (ˈkɔːstɪk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | capable of burning or corroding by chemical action: caustic soda |
| 2. | sarcastic; cutting: a caustic reply |
| 3. | of, relating to, or denoting light that is reflected or refracted by a curved surface |
| —n | |
| 4. | Also called: caustic surface a surface that envelops the light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface |
| 5. | Also called: caustic curve a curve formed by the intersection of a caustic surface with a plane |
| 6. | chem a caustic substance, esp an alkali |
| [C14: from Latin causticus, from Greek kaustikos, from kaiein to burn] | |
| 'caustical | |
| —adj | |
| 'caustically | |
| —adv | |
| causticity | |
| —n | |
| 'causticness | |
| —n | |
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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Example sentences
His caustic and satirical humour expressed itself in a style that astounded government departments.
The air smelled caustic and snowed flurrying motes of ash.
The crew then scrubbed the bones and boiled them in a cauldron of water and caustic soda to dissolve any remaining flesh.
Green cleaning solutions can keep your toilet as clean as caustic commercial products.
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