caustic

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 30, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>caustic</strong> &#149; \KAWSS-tik\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p>In general contexts, <em>caustic</em> describes bluntly and harshly critical remarks, statements, or ways of being and communicating, as in "a caustic remark" or "caustic humor." In contexts involving chemistry, <em>caustic</em> is a synonym of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corrosive"><em>corrosive</em></a>, and is used to describe things capable of destroying or eating away matter by chemical action.</p> <p>// She was a writer whose <em>caustic</em> wit endears her still to readers everywhere.</p> <p>// The chemical was so <em>caustic</em> that it ate through the pipes.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caustic#h1">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"For [novelist Milan] Kundera, the deadly foe of truthful art was <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kitsch">kitsch</a>: the narcissistic sentimentality that, under any social system, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/efface">effaces</a> realities and encourages people to 'gaze into the mirror of the beautifying lie.' With <em>caustic</em> irony, mordant wit and acrobatic literary skill, he mocked the beautifying lie wherever he found it—in politics, in culture or in personal relationships." — <em>The Economist</em>, 13 July 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>If you have a burning desire to know the origins of <em>caustic</em>, you're already well on your way to figuring it out. <em>Caustic</em> was formed in Middle English as an adjective describing chemical substances, such as <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lime#h1">lime</a> and <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lye">lye</a>, that are ca