Crossword clues for vitriolic
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International 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.
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Biting, bitter or caustic; having or expressing strong and unpleasantly negative feelings; -- of speech or feelings; the vitriolic denunciations of opponents by partisan columnists. Vitriolic acid (Old Chem.),
sulphuric acid. See Vitriol
. [Colloq.]
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
a. 1 of, derived from, or similar to a vitriol 2 bitterly scathing; caustic: vitriolic criticism 3 (context chemistry English): Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from, or resembling, vitriol; vitriolous; as, a vitriolic taste.
WordNet
adj. 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" [syn: acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, venomous, virulent]
of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action [syn: caustic, corrosive, erosive]
Usage examples of "vitriolic".
I have to watch what goes into the media, or vitriolic letters can fly from the Streit and Manischewitz families.
In a misguided attempt to stir up old colonial animosities toward the French, the commissioners published a vitriolic attack on America’s new allies and also appealed over the heads of the Congress to the population at large.
The jar may then be half filled with blue vitriol to which some water and vitriolic acid is added until the fluid reaches the buttercup.
He sat at it for a while and tried to compose a new entry for the Guide on the subject of Vogons but couldn't think of anything vitriolic enough so he gave that up too, wrapped a robe round himself and went for a walk to the bridge.
She read a movie review full of vicious ipse dixit criticism of the director and screenwriter, questioning their very right to create, and then turned to a woman columnist's equally vitriolic attack on a novelist, none of it genuine criticism, merely venom, and she threw the paper in a trash can.
Abu Simbel laughs at minstrels singing vicious satires, vitriolic odes commissioned by one chief against another, by one tribe against its neighbour.
Among his inventions of this character, was the modern process of manufacturing vitriolic acid in leaden vessels in large quantities, instead of in glass vessels in small quantities as formerly practised.