as in satiric
marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings
a mordant review of the movie that compared it to having one's teeth pulled for two hours
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Recent Examples of mordant
In his new book, Andersen takes a dizzy, mordant trip through five centuries of magical thinking, bringing a novelist’s gaze to make-believe Americana.
—
James Morone, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2018
Six Organs of Admittance Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., New Haven
The mordant post-modern folk act Six Organs of Admittance is at Space Ballroom on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. with two other singular voices, experimental Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji and Connecticut indie folk legend Kath Bloom.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 9 Nov. 2024
That movie was a mixed bag — watchable but no match for Moland’s own homeland original, In Order of Disappearance, a terrific Stellan Skarsgard vehicle that more effectively nailed the blend of tragedy, bloody violence and mordant humor.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024
There’s mordant wit, too, in the fact that this woman’s liberation is wholly enabled by a man’s rash murder.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 9 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mordant
James Morone, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2018
Six Organs of Admittance Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., New Haven
The mordant post-modern folk act Six Organs of Admittance is at Space Ballroom on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. with two other singular voices, experimental Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji and Connecticut indie folk legend Kath Bloom.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 9 Nov. 2024
That movie was a mixed bag — watchable but no match for Moland’s own homeland original, In Order of Disappearance, a terrific Stellan Skarsgard vehicle that more effectively nailed the blend of tragedy, bloody violence and mordant humor.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024
There’s mordant wit, too, in the fact that this woman’s liberation is wholly enabled by a man’s rash murder.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 9 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mordant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mordant
Adjective
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Misery, a horror movie with a satiric streak, launched Bates’s film stardom.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
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The real star of the show, though, is not the satiric script or the campy performances, but rather how each character brings their own unique approach to dressing for the corporate ladder.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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These behaviors may include: Making sarcastic or pointed remarks.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
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His character is written as sharp-minded, witty, and sarcastic, according to the filmmakers.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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But his prematurely craggy voice and melodies, combined with arrangement rooted in string bands, were nothing like the soft-rock dudes on the radio; if anything, Hurley was acid folk.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
18 Mar. 2025
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For the Abe Lincoln tomato, for example — a century-old, disease-resistant red slicer with rich, slightly acid flavor — there is seed from listers in California, Nebraska, Maine, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Jersey.—
Margaret Roach,
New York Times,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Blueberries need a very acidic soil; have the soil pH checked before planting. 69.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Mar. 2025
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Natural colors can be sensitive to heat, light, oxygen and changes in pH. Pigments extracted from berries, cabbage, and red radishes, for instance, may register as a purply-blue when used in a neutral-pH cookie dough but change to a pastel pink when added to an acidic lemonade.—
Ali Bouzari,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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An enemy then grabs the barbed wire with his bare hands — which already sounds like a bad idea, btw — only for the wire to shock him backward.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
20 Mar. 2025
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There were no trees nearby, just rows and rows of tan and olive-green tents erected on cement and surrounded by airport hangars, porta-potties, barbed wire, and guard towers.—
Edwidge Danticat,
The New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In The Dutchman, Andre Gaines retrofits Amiri Baraka’s caustic play about a fatal encounter between a reserved Black man and a roguish white woman for the modern age.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
8 Mar. 2025
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Simpson was better known for holding his own views, though, with sometimes caustic certainty.—
Mead Gruver,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mordant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mordant. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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