caustic
/ˈkɔːstɪk/
"caustic" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“caustic” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,959. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #29,959
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Capable of burning, corroding or destroying organic tissue.
Corpus desk
Index EN-caustic · caustic · English
caustic · rank #29,959 · 10 variants · 1 confusable
- FREQ-MID #29,959
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH cataract
Nearest frequency peer: cataract (-2 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “caustic”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- Caro
Caro
70,046 corpus weight
- carpentry
carpentry
70,045 corpus weight
- cataract
cataract
70,044 corpus weight
- caustic
caustic
70,042 corpus weight
- centrifugal
centrifugal
70,040 corpus weight
- Chechnya
Chechnya
70,038 corpus weight
What this shows “caustic” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | caustic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkɔːstɪk/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #29,959 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “caustic”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around caustic (IPA /ˈkɔːstɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #29,959 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for caustic, with forms such as "acustic", "casutic", and "causitc". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "cystic", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the Latin causticus (“burning”), from Ancient Greek καυστικός (kaustikós, “burning”), from καυστός (kaustós, “burnt”) + -ικός (-ikós). The correct English form is caustic, spelled C-A-U-S-T-I-C.
Definition
- 1Capable of burning, corroding or destroying organic tissue.
- 2Sharp, bitter, cutting, biting, and sarcastic in a scathing way.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how caustic appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"How now!" said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever.
The bargain was not concluded as easily as might have been expected though, for Scadder was caustic and ill-humoured, and cast much unnecessary opposition in the way
Etymology
From the Latin causticus (“burning”), from Ancient Greek καυστικός (kaustikós, “burning”), from καυστός (kaustós, “burnt”) + -ικός (-ikós).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- acustic
- casutic
- causitc
- causstic
- caustci
- causticc
- causttic
- cautsic
- ccaustic
- cuastic
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of caustic - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "caustic", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).