Dictionary Definition
caustic adj
1 harsh or corrosive in tone; "an acerbic tone
piercing otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid comments";
"her acrid remarks make her many enemies"; "bitter words";
"blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes about political
assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"; "a sulfurous
denunciation" [syn: acerb,
acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, sulfurous, sulphurous, venomous, virulent, vitriolic]
2 of a substance, especially a strong acid;
capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action [syn:
corrosive, erosive, vitriolic] n : any chemical
substance that burns or destroys living tissue
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From the Greek καυστός, burnt, via the Latin causticus, burning.Pronunciation
Adjective
Synonyms
Quotations
- 1843: "How now!" said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever. — Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
- 1843: The bargain was not concluded as easily as might have been expected though, for Scadder was caustic and ill-humoured, and cast much unnecessary opposition in the way — Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit
- 1853: Madame Beck esteemed me learned and blue; Miss Fanshawe, caustic, ironic, and cynical — Charlotte Bronte, Villette
- 1857:The Secretary and the Assistant-Secretaries would say little caustic things about him to the senior clerks, and seemed somewhat to begrudge him his new honours. — Anthony Trollope, The Three Clerks
- 1886: this set of worthies, who were only too prone to shut up their emotions with caustic words. — Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge
- 1930s???: though he came too late / To join the martyrs, there was still a place / Among the tempters for a caustic tongue / / To test the resolution of the young / With tales of the small failings of the great — W.H.Auden, 'The Quest'
Derived terms
Translations
capable of destroying organic tissue
- Finnish: syövyttävä
- Italian: caustico
severe; satirical; sharp
Noun
- Any substance or means which, applied to animal or other organic tissue, burns, corrodes, or destroys it by chemical action; an escharotic.
- In the context of "optics|computer graphics": The envelope of reflected or refracted rays of light for a given surface or object.
- The envelope of reflected or refracted rays for a given curve.
- In the context of "informal|chemistry": caustic soda
Derived terms
Translations
- Italian: caustica (2,3)
Extensive Definition
Caustic may refer to:
- Causticity, the
property of a substance that causes corrosion
- Sodium hydroxide, sometimes called caustic soda
- Potassium hydroxide, sometimes called caustic potash
- Calcium oxide, sometimes called caustic lime
- Caustic (optics), the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object, or the projection of that envelope of rays on another surface
- Caustic (mathematics), the envelope of rays reflected or refracted by a manifold, in differential geometry
- Caustic (band), an American industrial/powernoise band
caustic in German: Kaustik
caustic in Spanish: Cáustico
caustic in Portuguese: Cáustico
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Rabelaisian, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, actual cautery,
acute, amaroidal, angry, antagonistic, antipathetic, arc, asperous, astringent, belligerent, biting, bitter, bitter as gall, bow, brand, brand iron, branding iron,
brisk, burning, catacaustic, catenary, cauter, cauterant, cauterizer, cautery, choleric, circle, clashing, coarse, colliding, conchoid, conflicting, corroding, corrosive, crisp, critical, crook, curl, curve, cutting, cynical, despiteful, destructive, diacaustic, discontented, double-edged,
dry, edged, electrocautery, ellipse, embittered, escharotic, feeling evil,
festoon, fierce, full of hate, hard, harsh, hateful, hook, hostile, hot iron, hyperbola, incisive, ironic, irritating, keen, lituus, lunar caustic, malevolent, malicious, malignant, mordacious, mordant, moxa, nose-tickling, out of humor,
out of sorts, out of temper, parabola, penetrating, piercing, piquant, pithy, poignant, potential cautery,
pungent, quarrelsome, radium, rancorous, rankled, repugnant, resentful, resenting, rigorous, rough, salty, sarcastic, sardonic, satiric, scathing, scorching, set against,
severe, sharp, sinus, sore, sour, spiteful, splenetic, stabbing, stewing, stinging, strident, stringent, succinct, tart, terse, tracery, trenchant, vehement, venomous, violent, virulent, vitriolic, withering