caustic Hear it!

caustic Definition

caus·tic (kôs′tik)

adjective

  1. that can burn, eat away, or destroy tissue by chemical action; corrosive
  2. cutting or sarcastic in utterance; biting
  3. designating or of the curved radial surface, or a plane curve in this surface, formed by the reflection or refraction of rays from a curved solid surface

Etymology: ME caustik < L causticus < Gr kaustikos < kaustos, burning < kaiein, to burn

noun

  1. any caustic substance, esp. caustic soda
  2. a caustic surface or curve

Etymology: L causticum < the adj.

caustic Related Forms

caus′·ti·cally adverb caus·tic′·ity (-tis′i tē) noun

caustic Synonyms

caustic

modif.

  1. Corrosive

    burning, strongly alkaline, erosive; see acid 2, alkaline.

  2. Sarcastic

    biting, sharp, stinging, scathing; see sarcastic. See syn. study at sarcastic.

caustic Usage Examples

Preposition: for

eye: Virkon S Reasonable care necessary Sodium hydroxide Highly caustic for eyes and skin Avoid contact with strong acids.

Modifies a noun

  • soda: Organic cotton still requires caustic soda to remove the wax.
  • alkali: No matter how painful, the birds cannot escape the caustic alkali.
  • wit: Maybe it's the mood I'm in nowadays, but Lloyd's cynicism and caustic wit are what we need right now.
  • remark: That you knowingly signed off with a caustic remark yourself.
  • humor: His main fear is to be misunderstood, that the caustic humor may obscure the honest intention behind it.
  • substance: They can be seen following certain hairdressing procedures where very alkaline or caustic substances are allowed inappropriate contact with the skin.

Modifying Another Word

  • highly: New types of Viton® are versatile, offering improved capabilities in steam, solvents, highly caustic environments and low temperatures.
  • very: The latex of this thorny succulent species is very caustic ( Dalziel 1937 ).
  • too: People I know who dislike Tori feel that she's too caustic, too edgy.
  • sometimes: Yet Bev's dry, sometimes caustic sense of humor remains firmly in place.
  • somewhat: It is a white, crystalline solid, of a bitter, somewhat caustic taste, with a very poisonous action.
  • rather: Fresh soot is rather caustic and may be used as a soil fumigant to destroy insects and slugs.