mordant

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[ US /ˈmɔɹdənt/ ]
[ UK /mˈɔːdənt/ ]

ADJECTIVE

harshly ironic or sinister
fun ranging from slapstick clowning ... to savage mordant wit
grim laughter
a grim joke
black humor
of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action

NOUN

a substance used to treat leather or other materials before dyeing; aids in dyeing process

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How To Use mordant In A Sentence

I love the way Sarajevans express themselves; it's a kind of world-weary, mordant wit overlying an amazing ability to absorb and survive great suffering. A Conversation with Geraldine Brooks about People of the Book
Compared with the action of this destructive solvent, that of all other disintegrating agencies concerned in our decivilization is as the languorous indiligence of rosewater to the mordant fury of nitric acid. The Shadow On The Dial, and Other Essays 1909
But "Le corbeau" still was a touchstone for the young François Truffaut, and Claude Chabrol has drawn on Clouzot's mordant critiques of bourgeois society. A French Director Ripe for Rediscovery
Following on the mordanting operations comes the dyeing, which is carried out in the following manner. The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics A Practical Handbook for the Dyer and Student
What's most distinctive about this mordant comedy of manners is the resolutely awkward cinematography. Times, Sunday Times
There are many - too many - first-person accounts of illness but because she doesn't seek to entertain us we are spared the improbable levity and mordant wit that have become standard.
His dialogue is sharp and witty, laced with mordant humour. Times, Sunday Times
Yet who could resist her mordant wit? Times, Sunday Times
Stanley Kauffmann in his review of Stephen Becker's Marshall Field III calls in question the author's "expertise in the arts" by citing a statement of Mr. Becker on Field's interest in music: "He may not have known a mordant from a pralltriller. Letters
But chemical moments mordants such as alen alum are popular today.

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