First Known Use: 1638
Dictionary
sardonic
adjective sar·don·ic \sär-ˈdä-nik\
: showing that you disapprove of or do not like someone or something : showing disrespect or scorn for someone or something
Full Definition of SARDONIC
: disdainfully or skeptically humorous : derisively mocking <a sardonic comment>
— sar·don·i·cal·ly \-ni-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
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Examples of SARDONIC
- “The Great War,” used interchangeably with “the First World War” (so named in 1918 by a sardonic English journalist, who knew it would not be the last such conflict) … —Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic, May 1999
- They have that brand of sardonic humor special to people up against it: black and wry and shocking … —Doris Lessing, New Yorker, 16 Mar. 1987
- In a story by Flaubert, this spreading of cloths to save the carpet would be observed with a sardonic eye; in Lawrence it is bleakly practical. —Hugh Kenner, A Sinking Island, 1987
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Origin of SARDONIC
French sardonique, from Greek sardonios
Related to SARDONIC
Synonym Discussion of SARDONIC
sarcastic, satiric, ironic, sardonic mean marked by bitterness and a power or will to cut or sting. sarcastic implies an intentional inflicting of pain by deriding, taunting, or ridiculing <a critic known for his sarcastic remarks>. satiric implies that the intent of the ridiculing is censure and reprobation <a satiric look at contemporary society>. ironic implies an attempt to be amusing or provocative by saying usually the opposite of what is meant <made the ironic observation that the government could always be trusted>. sardonic implies scorn, mockery, or derision that is manifested by either verbal or facial expression <surveyed the scene with a sardonic smile>.
Rhymes with SARDONIC
Aaronic, atonic, benthonic, bionic, boronic, Brittonic, Brythonic, bubonic, Byronic, canonic, carbonic, colonic, cyclonic, daimonic, demonic, draconic, dystonic, euphonic, hadronic, harmonic, hedonic, hydronic, iconic, ionic, Ionic, laconic, Masonic, mnemonic, moronic, neutronic, photonic, phytonic, planktonic, platonic, plutonic, pneumonic, pythonic, sermonic, Slavonic, subsonic, symphonic, synchronic, tectonic, Teutonic, transonic
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