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Vitriolic   /vˌɪtriˈɑlɪk/   Listen
Vitriolic

adjective
1.
Harsh or corrosive in tone.  Synonyms: acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, virulent.  "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"
2.
Of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action.  Synonyms: caustic, corrosive, erosive, mordant.






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Vitriolic" Quotes from Famous Books



... nevertheless, it may not be amiss to mention, that the right Colchester are kept in slime-pits, occasionally overflowed by the sea; and that the green colour, so much admired by the voluptuaries of this metropolis, is occasioned by the vitriolic scum, which rises on the surface of the stagnant and stinking water — Our rabbits are bred and fed in the poulterer's cellar, where they have neither air nor exercise, consequently they must be firm in flesh, and delicious in flavour; and there is no game ...
— The Expedition of Humphry Clinker • Tobias Smollett

... bear a hand, but Bourne unceremoniously took him by the arm and said with concentration, "No thanks, Acton. We'll excuse you—you beastly cad!" I heard Bourne's remark, though no one else saw or heard. Acton's hand closed involuntarily, and he gave Bourne a vitriolic look, but did nothing nor said anything. We took Aspinall up to Merishall's—his old house—where he was staying, and left ...
— Acton's Feud - A Public School Story • Frederick Swainson

... town was for free silver, we were for the gold standard, and we never exerted ourselves particularly for a high tariff, and when the General saw our paper grow in spite of its heresies, he was amazed, and expressed his amazement in columns of vitriolic anger. Because we often ignored "issues" and "principles" and "great basic and fundamental ideas," as he called his contentions on the silver and tariff questions, for lists of delegates at conventions, names of pupils at the county ...
— In Our Town • William Allen White

... principal ideas and methods in favour with aeronauts up to the date now reached. It will be seen that Wise in America, contrary to the practice of Green in our own country, had a strong attachment to the antique mode of inflation with hydrogen prepared by the vitriolic process; and his balloons were specially made and varnished for the use of this gas. The advantage which he thus bought at the expense of much trouble and the providing of cumbersome equipment was obvious enough, and may be well expressed by a formula which holds good to-day, ...
— The Dominion of the Air • J. M. Bacon

... to interpret the messages of Nature a little. When Siegfried, stung by the dragon's vitriolic blood, pops his finger into his mouth and tastes it, he understands what the bird is saying to him, and, instructed by it concerning the treasures within his reach, goes into the cave to secure the gold, the ring and the wishing ...
— The Perfect Wagnerite - A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring • George Bernard Shaw


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