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• n  any chemical substance that burns or destroys living tissue
• s  harsh or corrosive in tone
  caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics
• s  of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action

• The coach's caustic remark after the match left many a team member in tears.
• A caustic catalog of the noted, and little-noted, events of the past week.
• Master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation.

• acerb
• acerbic
• acid
• acrid
• bitter
• blistering
• sulfurous
• sulphurous
• virulent
• vitriolic
• corrosive
• erosive
• mordant

News & Articles

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• Camille Paglia Pens Love Letter to Joan Rivers, 'Iconic Feminist Role Model'
  The author says her "caustic voice, relentless energy and driving ambition" make the legendary comic and TV mainstay an enduring force of nature. read more        
  June 12, 2013 - The Hollywood Reporter
• Siemens To Supply Wet Air Oxidation System To Qatar
  Siemens Energy will supply a wet air oxidation ethylene spent caustic treatment system as part of an ethylene plant expansion.
  June 12, 2013 - HydrocarbonOnline
• When science smells good
  LEWISTON — At its most basic, soap-making is a combination of caustic lye and a fat of some kind, mixed with a chemist's precision. "It's kind of magical," Lewiston's Tracey Miller said. "It's chemistry, which is sort of ironic, because chemistry was probably my worst subject in school.
  June 10, 2013 - The Lewiston Sun Journal

Quotes

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• Barack Obama in Washington Post
  The memo's caustic tone, and its focus on contributions by Indian-Americans to the Clinton campaign, was potentially hurtful, and as such, unacceptable,Obama wrote. "In sum, our campaign made a mistake. Although I was not aware of the...
• Clay Aiken in CNN (blog)
  I would not put myself out there to be as caustic as [Cowell] is, but if they want to call me, bring it on,he said. "We can talk."
• Rick Perry in Dallas Morning News
  The Republican governors need to "keep the discussion focused on the positive aspects of what we're delivering and try to stay away from these very caustic red-blue debates," Mr. Perry said. "The Republican Governors Association can be an...