caustic

[ kaw-stik ]
See synonyms for: causticcausticallycausticitycausticness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue.

  2. severely critical or sarcastic: a caustic remark.

noun
  1. a caustic substance.

  2. Optics.

Origin of caustic

1
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

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

Words Nearby caustic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use caustic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for caustic

caustic

/ (ˈkɔːstɪk) /


adjective
  1. capable of burning or corroding by chemical action: caustic soda

  2. sarcastic; cutting: a caustic reply

  1. of, relating to, or denoting light that is reflected or refracted by a curved surface

noun
  1. Also called: caustic surface a surface that envelops the light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface

  2. Also called: caustic curve a curve formed by the intersection of a caustic surface with a plane

  1. chem a caustic substance, esp an alkali

Origin of caustic

1
C14: from Latin causticus, from Greek kaustikos, from kaiein to burn

Derived forms of caustic

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

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