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 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 With his rugged handsomeness and wry sense of humor, Neill built an almost-50-year career playing heroes and villains, freaks and geniuses. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 13 July 2026 Fortunately, Dusse lightens the lawyer’s spiral into his mobster client’s dark underworld with wry humor and pointed skewering of both the wellness industry and the criminal legal profession. — The Know, Denver Post, 5 July 2026 Chocolate brings it home with a punch line—a wry observation to end the story with a laugh. — Joseph Trinidad, Longreads, 16 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for wry

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wry

Adjective

The other sarcastic superhero-ed character that makes a few cameos in the film has their own connection to Spider-Man – again, centered on loneliness and eventually learning to open up from their own recent film.

— Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
In the present, Lara meets Mari, a sarcastic and blunt high school tomboy who competes as a boxer.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 24 July 2026

Definition of sarcastic

Adjective

These prickly hairs are for protection, with barbed ends that easily penetrate the skin of predators or your hand.

— Markis Hill, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
The confrontation between father and daughter, in which Taylor-Joy unloads Lucky’s resentments about growing up in the life, is one of the season’s most barbed moments.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 July 2026

Definition of barbed

Adjective

Tentpoles with integrity will be especially important as generative AI makes the industry’s appetite for replicable content more cynical by the day.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 July 2026
In its portrayal of cross-gender relations, the series is consistently cruel to women, insulting to men, empathetic toward nobody and cynical about everything.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2026

Definition of cynical

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

In an interview with the ECB website, Root was keen to pay tribute to Stokes, one of his closest friends, but acknowledged that the team would need to reassess its approach under Fleming.

— Andrew Fifield, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
The site produces material used to make magnets that are essential for defense manufacturing, which the US is keen to secure.

— Jenny Vaughan, semafor.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of keen

Adjective

Yet Fehrenbach drew that lesson from the Korean War—an especially ironic example, given that ground forces did not achieve a conclusive political outcome there.

— David A. Deptula, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Although the work was a critical favorite and a Pulitzer finalist, Eggers’s ironic tone struck some readers as overly precious—few books have inspired such devotion and exasperation in equal measure.

— Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026

Definition of ironic

Adjective

Providing supplemental irrigation during dry periods to reduce drought stress.

— Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 31 July 2026
In just a few weeks, guests at this West 39th Street sandwich shop and wine bar can transport themselves to a Tuscan restaurant with homemade schiacciata bread, Italian meats and cheeses, and a dry white.

— Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 30 July 2026