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The etymology of mordant certainly has some bite to it. That word, which came to modern English through Middle French, ultimately derives from the Latin verb mordēre, which means "to bite." In modern parlance, mordant usually suggests a wit that is used with deadly effectiveness. Mordēre puts the bite into other English terms, too. For instance, that root gave us the tasty morsel ("a tiny bite"). But nibble too many of those and you'll likely be hit by another mordēre derivative: remorse ("guilt for past wrongs"), which comes from Latin remordēre, meaning "to bite again."
Synonyms
Examples of mordant in a Sentence
Armond White, National Review, 11 Oct. 2023
Gore resisted self-pity by projecting mordant good humor.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2023
The answer can be found in the book’s evocative quotes, alternately mordant and macabre, many of which come from the photographer’s grandmother.
—Devorah Lev-Tov Zoey Poll Caitie Kelly Devorah Lev-Tov Elinor Hitt Jinnie Lee, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2023
Everything that’s matchless about Raban’s work — his hyperacute eye for detail, his powers of synthesis, his mordant sense of humor, his vast reservoirs of knowledge and his love of travel — is there.
—Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2023
But after decades of wildly varying success attempting to stretch beyond his signature auto-fictions, the director reverts to the mordant memoir style of the film that first brought him to the French festival in 1993, Dear Diary.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 May 2023
That turn of phrase turned unexpectedly mordant this morning when the 59-year-old Long Islander was arrested in connection with the series of murders in and around Gilgo Beach a decade ago.
—Curbed, 14 July 2023
But this isn’t really a thriller so much as an IV pole on which Hornsby can hang a steady drip of mordant commentary on punk music, Silicon Valley and the corrosive effects of dynastic wealth.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 4 July 2023
Over recent weeks, people have chronicled their symptoms on social media, often in a tone of mordant resignation.
—Chris Buckley, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
Guy Lodge, Variety, 1 Oct. 2023
Particularly well served by the writers are Doi, the resident mordant wit, and Donovan as the doofus — in Kutcher’s old job, basically.
—Robert Lloydtelevision Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2023
Come for the crying and masturbating and post-split Tinder roundelays; stay for the mordant, messy wit that lights up nearly every page.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 13 Jan. 2023
The actors are nimble with Letts’ mordant, deceptively situational humor, and in embodying their characters’ chilling complacency.
—Naveen Kumar, Variety, 17 Apr. 2022
Loudon, 70-something patriarch, inhabits the canopy; from folkie to singing surgeon to some measure of each, adjoining the mordant to the serious.
—Nathan Rizzo | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 1 Nov. 2021
But Stewart’s take on Diana gives this film a wicked sense of humor too, emphasizing how her mordant sarcasm clashed just as uncomfortably with the royal family as her independent streak did.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 25 Sep. 2021
But another three words, albeit unspoken, also pulse beneath this mordant and inventive satire by James Ijames: Examine your assumptions.
—BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2021
Petite, quietly savage, with a sense of humor that can skew either goofy or mordant, Milioti, 35, is not the girl next door.
—New York Times, 26 Mar. 2021
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mordant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Adjective and Noun
Middle French, present participle of mordre to bite, from Latin mordēre; perhaps akin to Sanskrit mṛdnāti he presses, rubs
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1836, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Mordant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mordant. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.
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Medical Definition
mordant
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on mordant
Nglish: Translation of mordant for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mordant
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