/
ˈkɔːstɪk,
ˈkɒst-/
adj.
- able to burn or corrode organic tissue by chemical action.
- scathingly sarcastic.
- Physics formed by the intersection of reflected or refracted parallel rays from a curved surface.
n.
- a caustic substance.
- Physics a caustic surface or curve.
Derivative
- caustically adv.
- causticity n.
Etymology
ME: via L. from Gk kaustikos, from kaustos ‘combustible’, from kaiein ‘to burn’.
