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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 mordant
Separated by interstitial shots of Cluj’s ahistorical new architecture, these long and static confessional scenes are spiked with Jude’s recognizably mordant wit, their dialogue timely enough to distract from the feeling of shooting fish in a barrel.
—
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025
The excesses of 1980s academia are ripe fodder for de Kretser’s mordant wit, but her aim here is more ambitious — and the results more rewarding.
—Emily Eakin, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
Six Organs of Admittance Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., New Haven
The mordant post-modern folk act Six Organs of Admittance is at Space Ballroom on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. with two other singular voices, experimental Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji and Connecticut indie folk legend Kath Bloom.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 9 Nov. 2024
That movie was a mixed bag — watchable but no match for Moland’s own homeland original, In Order of Disappearance, a terrific Stellan Skarsgard vehicle that more effectively nailed the blend of tragedy, bloody violence and mordant humor.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mordant
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025
The excesses of 1980s academia are ripe fodder for de Kretser’s mordant wit, but her aim here is more ambitious — and the results more rewarding.
—Emily Eakin, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
Six Organs of Admittance Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., New Haven
The mordant post-modern folk act Six Organs of Admittance is at Space Ballroom on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. with two other singular voices, experimental Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji and Connecticut indie folk legend Kath Bloom.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 9 Nov. 2024
That movie was a mixed bag — watchable but no match for Moland’s own homeland original, In Order of Disappearance, a terrific Stellan Skarsgard vehicle that more effectively nailed the blend of tragedy, bloody violence and mordant humor.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mordant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mordant
Adjective
-
That’s the premise of Douglas Is Cancelled, a cruelly funny 2024 BBC sitcom that seems very much in sync with satiric comedies such as The Office and W1A and Yes Minister.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Misery, a horror movie with a satiric streak, launched Bates’s film stardom.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Emmy-nominated for the role the first time out, Ramsey is genius in it, the perfect amounts of precocious, sarcastic, and wide-eyedly vulnerable.—
Zing Tsjeng,
Vogue,
11 Apr. 2025
-
What about someone who posts a meme that is satirical or a comment that is meant to be sarcastic?—
Peter Suciu,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Alice in Wonderland is the exception with a $1 billion global take, made with the acid stylings of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp when the latter was hot as hell in a pre-streaming 2010.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2025
-
The company is a leading supplier of liquid and dry, acid and bicarbonate concentrates for dialysis patients in the United States.—
Quartz Intelligence Newsroom,
Quartz,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Make sure the soil is well-drained and acidic with pH levels ranging between 4.5-6.0. Consider laying down mulch to help the plants retain more moisture.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
8 Apr. 2025
-
The warmer temperatures on the ocean surface are more acidic, which favors algae.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The season does pepper throughout a sense that Santos has a real heart under all that barbed wire.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
-
The base that this is based on now has a bunch of barbed wire and fencing.—
Fred Topel,
Deadline,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In part, that’s because both actors are delivering impeccable work, balancing their caustic comic chemistry with course, unbridled vulnerability.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2025
-
It’s been more than 40 years since Mamet’s crop of caustic salesmen first hit the Broadway stage, becoming both a darling among critics and, seemingly, the dream production of every middle-aged male actor.—
Emlyn Travis,
EW.com,
1 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mordant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mordant. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share