MORDANT Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'mordant' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of mordant are acrid , caustic , and scathing . While all these words mean "stingingly incisive," mordant suggests a wit that is used with deadly effectiveness. // mordant reviews of the play

Q: When might 'acrid' be a better fit than 'mordant'?

The synonyms acrid and mordant are sometimes interchangeable, but acrid implies bitterness and often malevolence. // acrid invective

Q: When would 'caustic' be a good substitute for 'mordant'?

The meanings of caustic and mordant largely overlap; however, caustic suggests a biting wit. // caustic comments

Q: When can 'scathing' be used instead of 'mordant'?

While in some cases nearly identical to mordant , scathing implies indignant attacks delivered with fierce severity. // a scathing satire

mordant

adjective

ˈmȯr-dᵊnt

Definition of mordant next

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

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How does the adjective mordant contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of mordant are acrid, caustic, and scathing. While all these words mean "stingingly incisive," mordant suggests a wit that is used with deadly effectiveness.

mordant reviews of the play

When might acrid be a better fit than mordant?

The synonyms acrid and mordant are sometimes interchangeable, but acrid implies bitterness and often malevolence.

acrid invective

When would caustic be a good substitute for mordant?

The meanings of caustic and mordant largely overlap; however, caustic suggests a biting wit.

caustic comments

When can scathing be used instead of mordant?

While in some cases nearly identical to mordant, scathing implies indignant attacks delivered with fierce severity.

a scathing satire

Examples Sentences

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Recent Examples of mordant Anna Marie Tendler’s mordant account of her life suggests a single source for her pain. —

Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2024 Dolly Alderton is something of a modern-day Nora Ephron, bringing a fresh and mordant perspective to the eternal struggle between the sexes. —

Chloe Schama, Vogue, 18 July 2024 There is a mordant joke among leftists that liberals support every resistance movement except the ones unfolding in the present tense. —

Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024 As a guy who’s always thrived on his negative mojo, these songs bring out all his mordant humor. —

Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 13 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for mordant

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mordant

Adjective

Mann at his most satiric has Settembrini contributing an essay to a multivolume project whose purpose is to end suffering.

George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Others are satiric vignettes—pointed takedowns of sham humanitarians, sham foreign journalists, sham white saviors and their sham schemes to save the continent—whose villains can read more like stock inventions than like surprising ones.

Alexis Okeowo, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2024