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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.
Katherine Rosman, New York Times, 1 May 2025
That lady is really the aforementioned murderous hag (Meredith Binder), her false veneer of youthful beauty reinforced by a magic mirror’s flattering (if also caustic) topless female spirits, and sustained via grisly methods seemingly inspired by Elizabeth Bathory.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 2 May 2025
Our tax policy shouldn't incentivize industries that have demonstrated a caustic impact on our communities.
—Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025
That disparity is played perfectly by Durand, who paints Elmer as a caustic spitfire in life and, later, gives an emotional performance in death without ever truly having to say a word.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 27 Apr. 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 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
caustic
1 of 2 adjective
caustic
2 of 2 noun
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