Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word: CAUSTIC

Question

Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word: CAUSTIC

1. A. Kind
2. B. Mild
3. C. Gentle
4. D. Sarcastic (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — Sarcastic

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Sarcastic.

Key Points

• Caustic describes remarks that are bitingly sarcastic, cutting or scathing.
• Literally it means a substance capable of burning or corroding — caustic soda, for instance — and the figurative sense carries that same corrosive quality into speech.
• Kind, mild and gentle are all antonyms, so the three-alike pattern isolates the answer.

Additional Information

• Words for cutting speech: acerbic, acrid, mordant, trenchant, vitriolic, scathing, sardonic.
• Distinguish the near neighbours: sarcastic mocks by saying the opposite of what is meant; ironic notes a gap between expectation and outcome; cynical doubts the sincerity of others' motives.
• Where three options share a meaning and one stands apart, the setter has built the cluster deliberately — the odd word out is almost always the answer.