WRY Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

wry

adjective

Definition of wry

as in sarcastic

marked by the use of clever and often dark humor The writer had a wry wit that was something of an acquired taste.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of wry Interspersed with Mellencamp’s idiosyncratic views of himself were old press shots of the singer, many without a shirt or showcasing pouts and flexed biceps, that fit the song’s wry message. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 30 July 2026 Kincaid documented the wry, rueful conditions of colonialism and made a request of one of Britain’s most famous fictional characters. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026 The headlong pacing allows nary a breather, though there are enough wry notes, character quirks and offbeat details (remote-control doors, goats, a knife fight on a waterbed) to prevent macho monotony from setting in. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 July 2026 Neill was remembered as a wry friend and gentleman by friends, entertainment industry folks and New Zealanders who knew him. — Brittany Levine Beckman, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for wry

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wry

Adjective

Meanwhile, Rogen and Nanjiani manage to steal multiple scenes as the voices of the ladies’ cats Dio and GG, two sarcastic felines who are fed up with their burnout owners.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 12 Aug. 2026
This was Perez Hilton, after all, a man who had earned fame in the mid-two-thousands for his salacious, sarcastic, and often sadistic coverage of celebrity suffering.

— Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of sarcastic

Adjective

Founded by a former lawyer turned bookseller and Pasadena native Dan Whitmore, the store is doing brisk business among a younger clientele that still values the tactile pleasures to be found from beautiful books.

— Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026
Pick up apple cider donuts at Breeze Hill Farm before taking a brisk trek through any one of North Fork’s idyllic nature preserves—Orient Beach State Park, Sound View Dunes Park, and Laurel Lake Preserve are some of our favorites.

— Jessica Sulima, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of brisk

Adjective

To simulate thwarting advances by enemy forces using the bridge, soldiers erected layers of barriers and rolled barbed wire.

— Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Another drone created a smoke screen while still more blasted through triple-layered barbed wire.

— Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2026

Definition of barbed

Adjective

The pacing is more frenetic, the narration more biting, the flashbacks more jarring, and the comedowns much harsher.

— Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Described as a biting political thriller in the tradition of Wild in the Streets and V for Vendetta, The Hunted is set in a dystopian America where trans people are brutalized and erased to the margins of society.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 20 June 2026

Definition of biting

Adjective

The Shards is a series made for (and probably by) people who can’t always distinguish among kitsch, camp, ironic detachment and affectionate nostalgia, and, frankly, don’t care.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026
The post is also ironic given what Musk had just told The Economist.

— Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 29 July 2026

Definition of ironic

Adjective

Another round of showers is possible Saturday evening, but there will be plenty of dry time in between.

— Adam Del Rosso, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
With France experiencing its driest year ever, a new fire raced through woodlands overnight in the Landes region on the southwest coast.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026