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
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Recent Examples of wry
Through a Zoom screen, King radiates compassion and attunement, and Faber is wry and delightfully discursive; both seem like the mom whose house everybody would hang out at after school.
—
Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2023
The elder Slay brother had approached life with a wry, dark sense of humor.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2023
His second album for DeMarco’s Mac’s Record Label, Sweet Dreamin’, is a breezy, nine-song, 24-minute delight led by Crick’s charming piano melodies and wry interpersonal narratives.
—Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 13 Oct. 2023
The setup is familiar, but the film is wry, vivid and moving in unexpected ways — a testament to Jacobs’ singular touch, his gently eccentric blend of comic absurdism and emotional generosity.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for wry
Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2023
The elder Slay brother had approached life with a wry, dark sense of humor.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2023
His second album for DeMarco’s Mac’s Record Label, Sweet Dreamin’, is a breezy, nine-song, 24-minute delight led by Crick’s charming piano melodies and wry interpersonal narratives.
—Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 13 Oct. 2023
The setup is familiar, but the film is wry, vivid and moving in unexpected ways — a testament to Jacobs’ singular touch, his gently eccentric blend of comic absurdism and emotional generosity.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for wry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wry
Adjective
-
Seinfeld is a Jewish man from New York’s Long Island with a wry and sarcastic sense of humor.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Feb. 2025
-
Others lose a sense of trust by the sarcastic digs, eye rolls, interrupting, or belittling.—
Rachel Glik, Contributor,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The office campus attracted potential buyers at a brisk pace, according to Newmark brokers.—
George Avalos,
The Mercury News,
12 Feb. 2025
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Remarkably, in a brisk 90-minute play, DeLappe finds ways for every girl to be seen and for each one to be in conflict with at least one teammate, though the goalkeeper #00’s most intense conflict is with her own performance anxiety.—
Jim Higgins,
Journal Sentinel,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Away in a northeasterly direction towards Lake Pontchartrain sits a charmless, gated perimeter, secured by a fence topped with barbed wire.—
Adam Crafton,
The Athletic,
8 Feb. 2025
-
This is Auschwitz-Birkenau, a place where the Nazis treated people like animals caged in by electrified barbed wire, where prisoners died slowly by a combination of slave labor, human experimentation, starvation and disease.—
Jesse Kirsch,
NBC News,
2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
It’s packed with tough love, cathartic activities, and positive affirmations that won’t leave cynical folks rolling their eyes.—
Kristin Canning,
SELF,
25 Feb. 2025
-
It’s been cool and cynical, surreal and silly, bold enough to make adolescents of all ages feel daring for staying up past 11:30 (or catching up on YouTube the next morning) and safe enough to keep advertisers and network executives happy.—
A.O. Scott,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Now, 72 hours after being purged because they were considered probationary workers, a biting reality has set in for many of them.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
The Mercury News,
19 Feb. 2025
-
For example, a trip to Everglades National Park at the peak of summer could overlap with hurricane season or generally have higher biting insect activity and humid heat.—
Korrin Bishop,
Southern Living,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
But the web giant — always keen to serve up what its customers are looking for — has not given up on the high end.—
Evan Clark,
WWD,
16 Feb. 2025
-
Hammer seems keen on taking control of his own narrative.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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How ironic that a color designed to help soldiers blend in is the ultimate sartorial hack for standing out.—
Tom Stubbs,
Robb Report,
23 Feb. 2025
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The practice has existed since at least 1947, when a 21-year-old William F. Buckley and some of his friends showed up at a rally for the left-wing presidential candidate, Henry Wallace, wearing ironic bohemian getups.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Amarone Casks Amarone is an Italian dry red wine, and this single malt was finished in casks originating in Verona.—
David Thomas Tao,
Forbes,
23 Feb. 2025
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Add half the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined.—
Angelica Stabile,
Fox News,
23 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wry. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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