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If you have a burning desire to know the origins of caustic, you're already well on your way to figuring it out. Caustic was formed in Middle English as an adjective describing chemical substances, such as lime and lye, that are capable of destroying or eating away at something. The word is based on the Latin adjective causticus, which itself comes ultimately from the Greek verb kaiein, meaning "to burn." In time, caustic was baked into the English language as an adjective describing people or things (such as wit or remarks) that are bitingly sarcastic. Other kaiein descendants in English include cautery and cauterize, causalgia (a burning pain caused by nerve damage), and encaustic (a kind of paint that is heated after it's applied).
Examples of caustic in a Sentence
Garry Wills, Atlantic, April 1994
It was Schuyler's gift for satire and his caustic wit that distinguished his writings and led to his nickname, the Black Mencken.
—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New York Times Book Review, 20 Sept. 1992
Albert quailed before those caustic pronouncements, he shuddered and blanched and felt his stomach drop like a croquette into a vat of hot grease.
—T. Coraghessan Boyle, Harper's, October 1987
The chemical was so caustic that it ate through the pipes.
She wrote a caustic report about the decisions that led to the crisis.
Bart Jansen, USA Today, 1 July 2025
Our protagonist is a chipper, idiot honey bear with a caustic, mean-spirited bird stuffed in his backpack.
—Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025
Well, this was unexpected: a caustic and thorough indictment of Baby Boomer entitlement written by one of the Baby Boomers’ most important and original comic voices.
—Brian Boone, Vulture, 18 June 2025
But the comedic, opinionated political history with zany graphics, audience interaction, physical clowning, improvisational antics fueled by political outrage and one hilariously caustic line after another?
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for caustic
Cite this Entry
“Caustic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caustic. Accessed 26 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
caustic
1 of 2 adjective
caustic
2 of 2 noun
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