Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Corrosive \Cor*ro"sive\, n.
   1. That which has the quality of eating or wearing away
      gradually.

            [Corrosives] act either directly, by chemically
            destroying the part, or indirectly by causing
            inflammation and gangrene.            --Dunglison.

   2. That which has the power of fretting or irritating.

            Such speeches . . . are grievous corrosives.
                                                  --Hooker.
      -- {Cor*ro"sive*ly}, adv. -- {Cor*ro"sive*ness}, n.