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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mordant
Like much of the Coens’ work, these are tragedies tinged with mordant humor and punctuated by the bleakest twists of fate.
—
Sezin Devi Keohler, EW.com, 29 Mar. 2025
The Pornographer is a riposte to the banning of The Dark, a very mordant kind of revenge.
—Sam Sacks, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Separated by interstitial shots of Cluj’s ahistorical new architecture, these long and static confessional scenes are spiked with Jude’s recognizably mordant wit, their dialogue timely enough to distract from the feeling of shooting fish in a barrel.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025
The excesses of 1980s academia are ripe fodder for de Kretser’s mordant wit, but her aim here is more ambitious — and the results more rewarding.
—Emily Eakin, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mordant
Sezin Devi Keohler, EW.com, 29 Mar. 2025
The Pornographer is a riposte to the banning of The Dark, a very mordant kind of revenge.
—Sam Sacks, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Separated by interstitial shots of Cluj’s ahistorical new architecture, these long and static confessional scenes are spiked with Jude’s recognizably mordant wit, their dialogue timely enough to distract from the feeling of shooting fish in a barrel.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025
The excesses of 1980s academia are ripe fodder for de Kretser’s mordant wit, but her aim here is more ambitious — and the results more rewarding.
—Emily Eakin, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mordant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mordant
Adjective
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All Systems Red is a legible introduction to Wells’ hyper-capitalist, playfully satiric galaxy.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
16 May 2025
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That’s the premise of Douglas Is Cancelled, a cruelly funny 2024 BBC sitcom that seems very much in sync with satiric comedies such as The Office and W1A and Yes Minister.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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While the jeers towards Xhaka followed the midfielder, Arsenal’s captain at the time, retaliating to sarcastic cheers from the crowd at him being replaced in an October 2019 home match against Crystal Palace, those directed at Eboue were due to his performance.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
14 May 2025
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His first half was littered with increasingly ridiculous highlights: a lefty hook over Isaiah Hartenstein, a potpourri of 3s with hands in his face, a sarcastic stare-down after his defender tried taking a charge, followed by a pass to himself off the backboard to simplify the finish.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
13 May 2025
Adjective
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Azaleas do like an acid soil and grow best when the soil acidity is in the pH range of 4.5 to 5.5.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 May 2025
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Fluoride also replaces minerals lost from teeth due to acid breakdown, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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The way the soil responds will give you an idea of whether your soil is acidic, alkaline, or neutral.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
27 May 2025
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The acidic soil at Sutton Hoo, which rotted away the wood of the Anglo-Saxon ship and only left impressions of planks and rows of iron rivets, means that many of the bone combs previously found at Sutton Hoo have not been well-preserved, Howarth said.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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The inmates used blankets to protect themselves from the barbed wire on the fence.—
Alex Sundby,
CBS News,
21 May 2025
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The men brought blankets to protect themselves from barbed wire.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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Maybe singing caustic cadences is a way to keep the troops' spirits up.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 May 2025
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In caustic assessments of certain executives, from Martin Davis to Frank Yablans to Marvin Davis and others, Diller shows that sharp edges are also helpful.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mordant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mordant. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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