Search Result for "vitriolic": 
Wordnet 3.0

ADJECTIVE (2)

1. harsh or corrosive in tone;
- Example: "an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose"
- Example: "a barrage of acid comments"
- Example: "her acrid remarks make her many enemies"
- Example: "bitter words"
- Example: "blistering criticism"
- Example: "caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"
- Example: "a sulfurous denunciation"
- Example: "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]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Vitriolic \Vit`ri*ol"ic\, a. [Cf. F. vitriolique.] 1. (Chem.) Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from, or resembling, vitriol; vitriolous; as, a vitriolic taste. Cf. Vitriol. [1913 Webster] 2. 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] Vitriolic acid (Old Chem.), (a) sulphuric acid. See Vitriol (b) . [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

vitriolic 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]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

64 Moby Thesaurus words for "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