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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.
Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 1 Mar. 2025
No one really thinks Porter will play more than a dozen games with the Bucks before being released following (your choice; gun charges, domestic battery arrest, creating a caustic locker room, being banned by the NBA for on-court behavior, or _____) do they?
—Eric Nehm, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
In part, that’s because both actors are delivering impeccable work, balancing their caustic comic chemistry with course, unbridled vulnerability.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2025
It’s been more than 40 years since Mamet’s crop of caustic salesmen first hit the Broadway stage, becoming both a darling among critics and, seemingly, the dream production of every middle-aged male actor.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 1 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 3 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
caustic
1 of 2 adjective
caustic
2 of 2 noun
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