caustic vs pungent

caustic

adj
  • Sharp, bitter, cutting, biting, and sarcastic in a scathing way. 

  • Capable of burning, corroding or destroying organic tissue. 

noun
  • The envelope of reflected or refracted rays for a given curve. 

  • Caustic soda. 

  • The envelope of reflected or refracted rays of light for a given surface or object. 

  • Any substance or means which, applied to animal or other organic tissue, burns, corrodes, or destroys it by chemical action; an escharotic. 

pungent

adj
  • Stinging; acerbic. 

  • Having a sharp and stiff point. 

  • Having a strong odor that stings the nose, said especially of acidic or spicy substances. 

  • Having a strong taste that stings the tongue, said especially of hot (spicy) food, which has a strong and sharp or bitter taste. 

How often have the words caustic and pungent occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )