caustic

American  

[kaw-stik] / ˈkɔ stɪk /

adjective

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

2. severely critical or sarcastic.

   a caustic remark.

   Synonyms:

   acid, scathing, bitter, mordant, biting

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noun

1. a caustic substance.

2. Optics.

   1. caustic curve.

   2. caustic surface.

caustic British  

/ ˈkɔːstɪk, kɔːˈstɪsɪtɪ /

adjective

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

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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

3. chem a caustic substance, esp an alkali

Other Word Forms

• caustical adjective
• caustically adverb
• causticity noun
• causticly adverb
• causticness noun
• noncaustic adjective
• noncaustically adverb
• overcaustic adjective
• overcaustically adverb
• overcausticity noun
• uncaustic adjective
• uncaustically adverb

Etymology

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

Related Words

• acerbic
• bitter
• harsh
• incisive
• pithy
• pungent
• satiric
• scathing
• sharp
• stinging
• trenchant