Definition of sardonic
:disdainfully or skeptically humorous :derisively mocking
- a sardonic comment
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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
Recent Examples of sardonic from the Web
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Indeed, it’s made reasonably clear by the sardonic prewar remarks of Rhett Butler that Mitchell thought secession was an act of folly.
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Unlike Aubrey Plaza’s sardonic weirdos or Zooey Deschanel’s adorkable quirksters, Garner’s characters tend to skew much darker than your average millennial eccentric.
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Apart from veteran indie/underground queen Lowensohn's amusingly uninhibited and sardonic Luce, the characters are barely more than ciphers, and Manchette's social commentary aspects have largely been jettisoned.
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If sardonic lyrics are your thing, McMurtry has to be on your radar.
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The movie nods in the direction of interspecies solidarity, but in Reeves’ sardonic summation, nothing in the life of men becomes us like the leaving it.
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Benioff, who wears his hair in a Morrissey quiff, is the more sardonic one.
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Allen’s long, ascetic face, with narrow eyes and raised eyebrows, lends him an expression of perpetual seriousness that belies his sardonic good humor.
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His efforts to prove his point are illustrated in a series of vignettes that are alternately satiric and sad, sentimental and sardonic.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sardonic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of sardonic
French sardonique, from Greek sardonios
sardonic Synonyms
Synonyms
acerb, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulous, acrid, barbed, biting, caustic, corrosive, cutting, mordant, pungent, sarcastic, satiric (or satirical), scalding, scathing, sharp, smart-aleck, smart-alecky, smart-mouthed, snarky, tartRelated Words
brisk, cross, sharp-tongued, sour, sourish, spiky (also spikey), tartish; incisive, keen, poignant, trenchant; cynical, dry, ironic (also ironical), wry; facetious, flippant, tongue-in-cheek; acrimonious, bitter, resentful, vitriolic; harsh, rough, severe, stringent; abrupt, blunt, brusque (also brusk), concise, crisp, curt, gruff, pithy, snippety, snippy, succinct, terse; backhanded, insincereNear Antonyms
amusing, droll, merry, playful, sportive, waggish; gentle, mild; bland; good-humored, good-natured; diplomatic, polite, smooth, suave, urbane; affable, cordial, genial, gracious, hospitable, sociableSynonym Discussion of sardonic
sarcastic, satiric, ironic, sardonic mean marked by bitterness and a power or will to cut or sting. sarcastic implies an intentional inflicting of pain by deriding, taunting, or ridiculing.
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- a critic known for his sarcastic remarks
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- a satiric look at contemporary society
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- made the ironic observation that the government could always be trusted
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- surveyed the scene with a sardonic smile
SARDONIC Defined for English Language Learners
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See words that rhyme with sardonic Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sardonic Spanish Central: Translation of sardonic Nglish: Translation of sardonic for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sardonic for Arabic speakers
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