adj
Meaning 1
Capable of burning, corroding or destroying organic tissue.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
caustic
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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kôs'tĭk
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kŏs'tĭk
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/ˈkɔːstɪk/
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/ˈkɒstɪk/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɔːstɪk
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CMU ARPABET: K AA1 S T IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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CMU ARPABET 2: K AO1 S T IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Sharp, bitter, cutting, biting, and sarcastic in a scathing way.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Any substance or means which, applied to animal or other organic tissue, burns, corrodes, or destroys it by chemical action; an escharotic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
The envelope of reflected or refracted rays of light for a given surface or object.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: computer-graphics, computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, optics, physical-sciences, physics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
The envelope of reflected or refracted rays for a given curve.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: mathematics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
Caustic soda.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal, uncountable
Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 7
of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: corrosive, erosive, vitriolic, mordant
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 8
harsh or corrosive in tone
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- 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
- a vitriolic critique
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, sulfurous, sulphurous, virulent, vitriolic
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 9
any chemical substance that burns or destroys living tissue
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: compound, chemical compound
Narrower terms: lye, silver nitrate
History
Etymology
From the Latin causticus (“burning”), from Ancient Greek καυστικός (kaustikós, “burning”), from καυστός (kaustós, “burnt”) + -ικός (-ikós).
Across languages
Translations
65 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Asturian: cáusticu — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Bulgarian: разяждащ (razjaždašt) — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Catalan: càustic — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Czech: žíravý — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Danish: kaustisk — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Danish: ætsende — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Dutch: corrosief — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Dutch: bijtend — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Finnish: syövyttävä — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Finnish: kaustinen — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Galician: cáustico — capable of destroying organic tissue
- German: zersetzend — capable of destroying organic tissue
- German: beißend — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Greek: καυστικός (kafstikós) — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Hungarian: maró — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Italian: caustico — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Mongolian: идэмхий (idemxii) — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Norwegian Bokmål: kaustisk — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Norwegian Nynorsk: kaustisk — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Polish: kaustyczny — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Polish: żrący — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Portuguese: cáustico — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Russian: е́дкий (jédkij) — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Scottish Gaelic: loisgeach — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Spanish: cáustico — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Ukrainian: каустичний (kaustyčnyj) — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Ukrainian: їдкий (jidkyj) — capable of destroying organic tissue
- Bulgarian: хаплив (hapliv) — severe; satirical; sharp
- Bulgarian: язвителен (jazvitelen) — severe; satirical; sharp
- Chinese Cantonese: 尖酸嘅 (zim1 syun1 ge3) — severe; satirical; sharp
- Czech: sžíravý — severe; satirical; sharp
- Danish: ætsende — severe; satirical; sharp
- Danish: bidende — severe; satirical; sharp
- Danish: skarp — severe; satirical; sharp
- Dutch: streng — severe; satirical; sharp
- Dutch: scherp — severe; satirical; sharp
- Dutch: schamper — severe; satirical; sharp
- Dutch: bijtend — severe; satirical; sharp
- Finnish: pureva — severe; satirical; sharp
- Finnish: ivallinen — severe; satirical; sharp
- Finnish: myrkyllinen — severe; satirical; sharp
- German: scharf — severe; satirical; sharp
- German: beißend — severe; satirical; sharp
- German: bissig — severe; satirical; sharp
- German: ätzend — severe; satirical; sharp
- German: sarkastisch — severe; satirical; sharp
- Greek: καυστικός (kafstikós) — severe; satirical; sharp
- Italian: caustico — severe; satirical; sharp
- Portuguese: cáustico — severe; satirical; sharp
- Ottoman Turkish: آجی (acı) — severe; satirical; sharp
- Ukrainian: уїдливий (ujidlyvyj) — severe; satirical; sharp
- Czech: žíravina — substance which burns, corrodes or destroys organic tissue
- Finnish: syövyttävä aine — substance which burns, corrodes or destroys organic tissue
- German: Ätzmittel — substance which burns, corrodes or destroys organic tissue
- Greek: καυστικό (kafstikó) — substance which burns, corrodes or destroys organic tissue
- Portuguese: cáustico — substance which burns, corrodes or destroys organic tissue
- Romanian: caustic — substance which burns, corrodes or destroys organic tissue
- Finnish: polttopinta — envelope of reflected or refracted rays of light for a given surface or object
- German: Kaustik — envelope of reflected or refracted rays of light for a given surface or object
- Italian: caustica — envelope of reflected or refracted rays of light for a given surface or object
- Portuguese: cáustica — envelope of reflected or refracted rays of light for a given surface or object
- Finnish: polttopinta — envelope of reflected or refracted rays for a given curve
- German: Kaustik — envelope of reflected or refracted rays for a given curve
- Italian: caustica — envelope of reflected or refracted rays for a given curve
- Portuguese: cáustica — envelope of reflected or refracted rays for a given curve
Real reading context