caustic

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkɔstɪk/ UK /ˈkɔːstɪk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
capable of burning or corroding; bitingly sarcastic

Her caustic wit left no one in the room unscathed.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · capable of burning or... corrosive burning biting acid mordant scathing sarcastic cutting

Opposites

mild bland soothing gentle

Word family

Derived forms causticallycausticity

Related forms cauterize holocaustencaustic

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

caustic remark
a sharply sarcastic comment intended to hurt or criticize

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Caustic came through Latin from Greek kaustikos, derived from kaiein, “to burn.” The same Greek base also lies behind cauterize.

Etymology

From Latin causticus, from Greek kaustikos ('capable of burning'), from kaiein ('to burn').

kaustikos Ancient Greek kaiein Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# caustic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɔstɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɔːstɪk/

## Meanings
1. capable of burning or corroding; bitingly sarcastic

## Examples
- Her caustic wit left no one in the room unscathed.

## Synonyms
- corrosive
- burning
- biting
- acid
- mordant
- scathing
- sarcastic
- cutting

## Antonyms
- mild
- bland
- soothing
- gentle

## Derived Forms
- caustically
- causticity

## Related Forms
- cauterize
- holocaust
- encaustic

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: kaustikos
- Root: kaiein

## Etymology
From Latin causticus, from Greek kaustikos ('capable of burning'), from kaiein ('to burn').

## AI Etymology
Caustic comes from Latin causticus, from Greek kaustikos ('capable of burning'), from kaiein ('to burn'). The historical trail runs through kaustikos in Ancient Greek and kaiein in Ancient Greek. Used as an adjective and noun, caustic now means "capable of burning or corroding; bitingly sarcastic", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as caustically and causticity and related forms such as cauterize, holocaust, and encaustic. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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