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
Phoebe Greenwood’s novel, Vulture, conjures up this world with mordant humor and breathtaking immediacy.
—
Book Marks
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
While still maintaining his academic career, Lehrer was popular enough to tour occasionally as a solo performer before overseas audiences, punctuating his mordant material with a lupine grin.
—Chris Morris, Variety, 27 July 2025
A bit of mordant familial humor held that the Great Depression had hit the year before, and the family had been demoted, but the new categorization was more likely the product of the family’s changing structure.
—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
The brilliantly mordant Irish comedian Dylan Moran summed it up memorably.
—Greg Orme, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mordant
Book Marks
august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
While still maintaining his academic career, Lehrer was popular enough to tour occasionally as a solo performer before overseas audiences, punctuating his mordant material with a lupine grin.
—Chris Morris, Variety, 27 July 2025
A bit of mordant familial humor held that the Great Depression had hit the year before, and the family had been demoted, but the new categorization was more likely the product of the family’s changing structure.
—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
The brilliantly mordant Irish comedian Dylan Moran summed it up memorably.
—Greg Orme, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mordant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mordant
Adjective
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The anime first premiered in October 2015, earning widespread acclaim for its satirical take on superhero tropes and stunning action sequences.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
7 Oct. 2025
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Count Dracula remains a fixture in the horror genre, having been featured in movies that range from scary and sexy to silly and satirical.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Following the mother-daughter duo of Lorelai Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham, and Rory, played by Alexis Bledel, Gilmore Girls was perfectly made for millennials, packed with wistful romances, frustrating dramatic turns and just enough sarcastic jokes.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025
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Viewers on Reddit were amused by the extortionate price shown for the vacation deal in the recent post, with several sharing their sarcastic takes on it.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Drinking coffee may stimulate an increase in acid production in the stomach.—
Carrie Madormo,
Verywell Health,
6 Sep. 2025
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This touchscreen pod machine has a lot to offer, including rich, balanced, coffee; a whopping eight brewing sizes; one-touch presets for low-acid, Americano, iced coffee, and cold brew; plus customizable temperature control and brew strength.—
Mark Marino,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Since iron availability depends on an acidic environment, this reduces its absorption.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
7 Oct. 2025
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British yelper Yungblud released his debut in 2018 and has been cultivating a fervent fanbase for his ambitious, acidic music in the years since, but his co-sign from Ozzy Osbourne before the metal titan’s death this summer and his ambitious album Idols raised his profile in the wider rock world.—
Maura Johnston,
Rolling Stone,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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There are no spools of barbed wire atop its fences or looming guard towers to announce its purpose.—
Shirsho Dasgupta,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
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The pair have traded many barbed comments since Khan was elected to lead London in 2016 — Khan strongly criticized the president the same year for pledging a travel ban on a number of majority-Muslim countries, which was enacted in 2017.—
Patrick Smith,
NBC news,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Oasis is known the world over as the supergroup containing the infamously caustic pair of brothers, Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Oct. 2025
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The result is a safer material that no longer carries the caustic nature of untreated red mud.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mordant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mordant. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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