sardonic
adjective
sar·don·ic
sär-ˈdä-nik 
: disdainfully or skeptically humorous : derisively mocking
a sardonic comment
Examples of sardonic in a Sentence
"The Great War," used interchangeably with "the First World War" (so named in 1918 by a sardonic English journalist, who knew it would not be the last such conflict) …
—
Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic, May 1999
They have that brand of sardonic humor special to people up against it: black and wry and shocking …
—Doris Lessing, New Yorker, 16 Mar. 1987
In a story by Flaubert, this spreading of cloths to save the carpet would be observed with a sardonic eye; in Lawrence it is bleakly practical.
—Hugh Kenner, A Sinking Island, 1987
The movie is a sardonic look at modern life.
a sardonic little jab that made her visitor quiet and subdued for the rest of the night
Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic, May 1999
They have that brand of sardonic humor special to people up against it: black and wry and shocking …
—Doris Lessing, New Yorker, 16 Mar. 1987
In a story by Flaubert, this spreading of cloths to save the carpet would be observed with a sardonic eye; in Lawrence it is bleakly practical.
—Hugh Kenner, A Sinking Island, 1987
The movie is a sardonic look at modern life.
a sardonic little jab that made her visitor quiet and subdued for the rest of the night
Recent Examples on the Web
But nothing can quite compare with the sophistication and sardonic genius of Nigel Kipling.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2025
While Grace, in a variation on his usual chatty dweebs, wavers between sardonic and panicky, poor Dockery is stuck playing a character who has to make terrible decision after terrible decision in order to sustain the primary gimmick.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2025
His wave illustrations, many of them in color, eschew the sardonic tone that distinguishes his other work, and instead center the power and calm of nature, often commenting on humanity’s relation to it through the presentation of a single, minuscule surfer riding a monster swell.
—News Desk, Artforum, 17 Mar. 2025
The playful sneers of the Scherzo gave way to a snarling, gnashing Intermezzo, the orchestra and especially the low brass giving it their sardonic all.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sardonic
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Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2025
While Grace, in a variation on his usual chatty dweebs, wavers between sardonic and panicky, poor Dockery is stuck playing a character who has to make terrible decision after terrible decision in order to sustain the primary gimmick.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2025
His wave illustrations, many of them in color, eschew the sardonic tone that distinguishes his other work, and instead center the power and calm of nature, often commenting on humanity’s relation to it through the presentation of a single, minuscule surfer riding a monster swell.
—News Desk, Artforum, 17 Mar. 2025
The playful sneers of the Scherzo gave way to a snarling, gnashing Intermezzo, the orchestra and especially the low brass giving it their sardonic all.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sardonic
Cite this Entry
“Sardonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sardonic. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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