Adjacent Words

Vitriolic definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VITRIOL'IC, a. Pertaining to vitriol; having the qualities of vitriol, or obtained from vitriol.
Vitriolic acid, in modern chimistry is denominated sulphuric acid, the base of it being sulphur; sulphur completely saturated with oxygen.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: 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" [syn: acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, virulent, vitriolic]
2: of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action [syn: caustic, corrosive, erosive, vitriolic, mordant]

Merriam Webster's

adjective see vitriol

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (of speech or criticism) caustic or hostile.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vitriolic Vit`ri*ol"ic, a. [Cf. F. vitriolique.] (Chem.) Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from, or resembling, vitriol; vitriolous; as, a vitriolic taste. Cf. Vitriol. Vitriolic acid (Old Chem.), (a) sulphuric acid. See Vitriol (b) . [Colloq.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you describe someone's language or behaviour as vitriolic, you disapprove of it because it is full of bitterness and hate, and so causes a lot of distress and pain. There was a vicious and vitriolic attack on him in one of the Sunday newspapers two weeks ago. = venomous ADJ: usu ADJ n [disapproval]

Moby Thesaurus

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