Definition of "corrosive" []

• Having the capability or tendency to cause corrosion: a corrosive acid. (adjective)
• Gradually destructive; steadily harmful: corrosive anxiety; corrosive increases in prices; a corrosive narcotics trade. (adjective)
• Spitefully sarcastic: corrosive criticism; corrosive wit. (adjective)
• A substance having the capability or tendency to cause corrosion. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Prussia the corrosive influence (_la puissance corrosive_) of the empire."
• "He expects the same in the Gulf because of what he calls a corrosive social cycle."
• "Remington's new 887 polymer-encased shotgun also makes a lot of sense in corrosive conditions."