Very critical society about object (8)

I believe the answer is:

scathing

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'very critical' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'society about object' is the wordplay.
'society' becomes 's' (common abbreviation in names of organisations).
'about' becomes 'ca' (circa).
'object' becomes 'thing' (an object is a thing or item).
's'+'ca'+'thing'='SCATHING'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for scathing that I've seen before include "Caustic" , "Sarcastic" , "Painful" , "Scornfully critical" , "Witheringly scornful" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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