Word Study
vitriolic
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Adjective vitriolic has 2 senses
- vitriolic(s = adj.all) acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, virulent - harsh or corrosive in tone; "an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid comments"; "her acrid remarks make her many enemies"; "bitter words"; "blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"; "a sulfurous denunciation"; "a vitriolic critique" Derived form noun vitriol2
- vitriolic(s = adj.all) caustic, corrosive, erosive, mordant - of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action; Array Derived form noun vitriol1
CIDE DICTIONARY
vitriolic, a. [Cf. F. vitriolique.].
- Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from, or resembling, vitriol; vitriolous; as, a vitriolic taste. Cf. Vitriol. [1913 Webster]
- Biting, bitter or caustic; having or expressing strong and unpleasantly negative feelings; -- of speech or feelings; the vitriolic denunciations of opponents by partisan columnists. [PJC]
THESAURUS
vitriolic
acerbic, acid, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, antagonistic, antipathetic, asperous, astringent, belligerent, biting, bitter, caustic, clashing, colliding, conflicting, cutting, despiteful, double-edged, edged, envenomed, escharotic, fierce, full of hate, harsh, hateful, hostile, incisive, irritating, keen, malevolent, malicious, malignant, mordacious, mordant, nose-tickling, penetrating, piercing, piquant, poignant, pungent, quarrelsome, rancorous, repugnant, rigorous, rough, scathing, set against, severe, sharp, sore, sour, spiteful, stabbing, stinging, strident, stringent, tart, trenchant, vehement, venenate, venomous, violent, virulent
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