What's the difference between caustic and trenchant?

Caustic


Definition:

  • (a.) Alt. of Caustical
  • (a.) Any substance or means which, applied to animal or other organic tissue, burns, corrodes, or destroys it by chemical action; an escharotic.
  • (a.) A caustic curve or caustic surface.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) According to the report filed by the New York state department of financial services (NYSDFS), when warned by a US colleague about dealings with Iran, a Standard Chartered executive caustically replied: "You f---ing Americans.
  • (2) He had severe standards and was caustic about people in public life and the way things were run.
  • (3) Fatale haemoptysis occurred as a result of circumferential caustic erosion to the right intermediate bronchus caused by a tablet of ferrous sulphate which remained in contact for 4 days.
  • (4) Four cases of combined hypopharyngeal and cervical esophageal stricture secondary to caustic ingestion are presented.
  • (5) Initial endoscopic examination showed moderate caustic esophagitis in all patients, and esophageal atony and poor distension were early roentgenographic observations.
  • (6) The stigma of having no brothers or sisters meant that any acting up was immediately dismissed with a caustic, “Well, he is an only child.” The subtext was that my parents had doted on me excessively, inflating my sense of importance.
  • (7) The caustic property of silver nitrate prompted a double-blind, controlled study of a possible causal relationship between use of the agent for prophylaxis against ophthalmic infection in the newborn and the subsequent development of nasolacrimal duct obstruction.
  • (8) The effects of accidental ingestion of a caustic detergent are studied in the report of 14 patients seen in the Hennepin County Medical Center.
  • (9) The success of conservative treatment has been higher in patients younger than 8 years of age, and in strictures due to caustics other than lye involving upper third portion and less than five cm of an esophageal segment.
  • (10) Despite the sometimes self-deprecating shtick – in sharp contrast to Putin's self-mythologising antics – there remains disquiet about what Navalny really represents, behind the caustic put-downs and cool persona.
  • (11) Caustic ingestion in adults must be viewed as a problem different from that of accidental ingestion in children.
  • (12) Exposure to caustic agents is a common problem, affecting thousands of individuals annually.
  • (13) This result counters the theory that a caustic response is a prerequisite for successful therapy.
  • (14) With both kinds of caustic agents the decrease of acid phosphatase activity was more striking than that of the alkaline phosphatase.
  • (15) Even so, Iain Macleod and Enoch Powell refused invitations to join the new government and Macleod published in the Spectator a caustic account of all the skullduggery.
  • (16) L'eau de Javel (bleaching agent with sodium hypochloride) was the most frequently encountered caustic substance (89%).
  • (17) The indication for esophageal replacement was atresia in 92 children and intractable stricture (peptic, caustic, or congenital) in 20.
  • (18) In order to examine the injuries and functional abnormalities of these sites following caustic ingestion, the records of The Johns Hopkins Swallowing Center were reviewed.
  • (19) Afterwards, in a sign that she has not yet lost her caustic side, Sobchak wrote in her Tatler column: "Bozhena equally suffers for the fate of her motherland as for the fate of her fur coats."
  • (20) Roy Keane’s most outspoken attack on Sir Alex Ferguson branched out into caustic criticisms of José Mourinho as he branded the Chelsea’s manager conduct “disgraceful” and explained why he refused to shake his hand towards the end of Aston Villa’s recent match at Stamford Bridge .

Trenchant


Definition:

  • (v. t.) Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp.
  • (v. t.) Fig.: Keen; biting; severe; as, trenchant wit.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The hostility Said encountered from pro-Israeli circles in New York was predictable, given his trenchant attacks on Israeli violations of the human rights of Palestinians and his outspoken condemnations of US policies in the Middle East.
  • (2) He went with a bang not a whimper: two of his last contributions to the New Republic were a trenchant critique of the history of the six-day war by Michael Oren, now Israeli ambassador to Washington, and an evisceration of Koba the Dread, Martin Amis's purported book on Stalin.
  • (3) Yet with growing numbers of civilian deaths and escalating violence, many British Syrians have become more trenchant in putting forward pro- or anti-regime views.
  • (4) This year she won plaudits from fellow peers and disability activists alike over a series of trenchant interventions on the controversial welfare reform bill .
  • (5) "If there is one thing that has been wrong with this World Cup it is Fifa’s ridiculous insistence that teams wear predominantly light or dark strips," begins Stewart Todd, before taking a deep breath and resuming his diatribe, utilising both the 'relentless' and 'trenchant' styles.
  • (6) Ruggie’s report was welcomed by Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation and a trenchant critic of the lack of progress by Qatar on the migrant workers issue.
  • (7) Jones told Turnbull that because he had had dinner with Palmer, a trenchant critic of Abbott, “people” were suggesting that “precisely because you have no hope ever of being the leader again – you have got that into your head, no hope ever – that because of that you are happy to chuck a few bombs around that might blow up Abbott a bit, that is what they are saying.” Turnbull replied that it was Jones who was undermining the Abbott government and “doing the work of the Labor party”, a charge not usually levelled at the Sydney announcer who is an ardent supporter of the prime minister.
  • (8) He was speaking to The Independent, which reports: Mr Fisher trenchantly defends those decisions made at the height of the crisis.
  • (9) That is not only because of McDonnell’s trenchant hard-left economic views, but also because of his combative approach.
  • (10) The White House, fearing the impact of a European disaster on Barack Obama's re-election campaign, is becoming more trenchant in its criticism of the eurozone and its demands of the Germans.
  • (11) Former centre-right president Nicolas Sarkozy was reported to have supplied his own trenchant critique, even as Brignoles voters were preparing to elect Lopez in the second round.
  • (12) The comments from Maria Hutchings, described by Lib Dems as a Sarah Palin figure for her trenchant views and tendency to speak off-message, provoked a storm of protest as political opponents and state-educated celebrities, said she had insulted state schools, including two local ones with glowing Ofsted reports.
  • (13) I don't for a minute accept the logic of reforms that put individuals in private debt to avoid public debt but even the most trenchant libertarian can find fault when those same reforms end up costing the Treasury more money.
  • (14) He chose to release a trenchantly-worded judgment, explaining why had made the initial ruling to keep the identity of the footballer secret, in which he concluded there was "ample reason not to trust" the young woman.
  • (15) For old hands at the negotiations, such as Yvo de Boer, a former Dutch civil servant and UN climate chief known for his trenchant views, the conferences have become trapped in an endless cycle of repeats.
  • (16) But Abbott’s trenchant opposition to the fund is seen as an impediment to any contribution.
  • (17) As a result, general inequality has been becoming more grievous with every year that passes, and without a bleat from the leaders of the party who once spoke up so trenchantly and characteristically for greater equality.
  • (18) Rival Palestinian groups have hailed the signing of a reconciliation agreement that could change the parameters of the search for Middle East peace, amid trenchant opposition from Israel.
  • (19) The faith-based failure to plan for the invasion’s aftermath, rightly damned in trenchant terms by Sir John, was the most catastrophic for the Iraqi people, and indeed for the British service personnel in harm’s way.
  • (20) He has been the most prominent of black British intellectuals since the 1960s, a prominent figure of the Open University and among the most trenchant critics of Thatcherism.