Words / C / General

caustic

adjective/ˈkɔːstɪk/

B2CEFR level
45/100Rarity: uncommon
NeutralRegister

Bitingly sarcastic or severe in a way that stings.

His caustic remarks about the amateur choir emptied the rehearsal within minutes.

Similar: acerbic, scathing, mordant

Origin: From Latin causticus, from Greek kaustikos, burning.

Topic: sarcasm in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: sarcasm