sardonic
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- sardonically adverb
- sardonicism noun
- unsardonic adjective
Etymology
Origin of sardonic
First recorded in 1630–40; alteration of earlier sardonian (influenced by French sardonique, ) from Latin sardoni(us) or directly from Greek sardónios “of Sardinia” + -an; alluding to a Sardinian plant which when eaten was supposed to produce convulsive laughter ending in death
Compare meaning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hoy goes over to check in with Sir Andy Murray about his readiness and is met with a typical sardonic quip from his fellow Scot.
From BBC
There was Baron Hoover and his wife, the baroness, and the Earl of Maytag, who looked sardonic as ever.
From Literature
What “The Trouble With Harry” needed, Herrmann wrote, was “a musical portrait of Hitchcock . . . gay, funny, macabre, tender and with an abundance of his sardonic wit.”
Folds’ best-known songs, such as “Brick,” “Song for the Dumped,” “Army,” “Rockin’ the Suburbs” and “Zak and Sara,” may seem too sardonic or dark for the sweet world of Snoopy and company.
From Los Angeles Times
“Hannah read it in a way that was dry, sardonic, the way that a comedy writer would say it, and she just had this toughness about her.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
