as in sarcastic
marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings
caustic movie reviews that serve mainly to show how clever the reviewer is
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Recent Examples of caustic
The technology replaces harsh, high-temperature caustic bleaching with a gentler low-temperature system that preserves the cotton fiber’s natural wax layer.
—
Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 8 Dec. 2025
Noah Baumbach loves to find sympathy in unsympathetic subjects—the awkward title character of Greenberg, the caustic writer played by Nicole Kidman in Margot at the Wedding, the bitter divorced couple of Marriage Story.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Nov. 2025
Laube, who previously ran the Libertarian Party of Iowa, and his allies promised to run Libertarian candidates, reverse the decline in their voting base and repudiate the caustic public image embraced by the party’s now-former leaders.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 26 Oct. 2025
The endorsement comes as Cuomo has lobbed increasingly caustic attacks on Mamdani, equating his criticism of Israel with antisemitism and warning of a city beset by crime, hatred and disorder if his opponent wins.
—Anthony Izaguirre, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for caustic
Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 8 Dec. 2025
Noah Baumbach loves to find sympathy in unsympathetic subjects—the awkward title character of Greenberg, the caustic writer played by Nicole Kidman in Margot at the Wedding, the bitter divorced couple of Marriage Story.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Nov. 2025
Laube, who previously ran the Libertarian Party of Iowa, and his allies promised to run Libertarian candidates, reverse the decline in their voting base and repudiate the caustic public image embraced by the party’s now-former leaders.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 26 Oct. 2025
The endorsement comes as Cuomo has lobbed increasingly caustic attacks on Mamdani, equating his criticism of Israel with antisemitism and warning of a city beset by crime, hatred and disorder if his opponent wins.
—Anthony Izaguirre, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for caustic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for caustic
Adjective
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Tom Lester played Eb Dawson, the Douglases' sarcastic young farmhand.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
25 Jan. 2026
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The worse things are going, the more bitter and sarcastic my humor sometimes gets.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The only thing that may be crazier than the actual football life is this satirical comedy-drama that has more to do with a hedonistic existence than play-action passes.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
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But it’s set apart from the rest of her work by a long, satirical section sending up gothic fiction and its fans.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Mushy, wrinkled, moldy, or acidic-smelling grapes should only be food for your compost.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
30 Jan. 2026
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Dark roasts are less acidic than other roasts.—
Emily Santora,
Health,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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What’s lacking is acid, some tang, to cut through the excess of richness.—
Bill Addison,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2026
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What begins as a slow, lumbering triplet rhythm gradually morphs into a fleet and elegant quasi-acid jam; drums that start off gently turn tough and clattering before the whole thing fades out in a soft sunset glow.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Following the 1967 war, a rope of asphalt had replaced the rubble and barbed wire, meandering through the city like an unwanted river.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
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Much of the comedy in this action-comedy arrives via barbed exchanges between the constantly bickering James and Jonny.—
Richard Kuipers,
Variety,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Such links are abhorrent and corrosive to the trust on which the charitable sector depends.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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The process begins by collecting raw gas from waste sites and subjecting it to a rigorous desulfurization stage to remove corrosive sulfur compounds.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Caustic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caustic. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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