mordant

[mawr-dnt]

adjective

1. sharply caustic or sarcastic, as wit or a speaker; biting.

   Synonyms: scathing, acerbic, cutting

2. burning; corrosive.

3. having the property of fixing colors, as in dyeing.

noun

1. a substance used in dyeing to fix the coloring matter, especially a metallic compound, as an oxide or hydroxide, that combines with the organic dye and forms an insoluble colored compound or lake in the fiber.

2. an adhesive substance for binding gold or silver leaf to a surface.

3. an acid or other corrosive substance used in etching to eat out the lines, areas, etc.

4. Music.,  mordent.

verb (used with object)

1. to impregnate or treat with a mordant.

mordant

/ ˈmɔːdənt /

adjective

1. sarcastic or caustic

2. having the properties of a mordant

3. pungent

noun

1. a substance used before the application of a dye, possessing the ability to fix colours in textiles, leather, etc See also lake 2

2. an acid or other corrosive fluid used to etch lines on a printing plate

verb

1. (tr) to treat (a fabric, yarn, etc) with a mordant

Other Word Forms

• mordantly adverb
• unmordant adjective
• unmordantly adverb
• mordancy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mordant¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French, present participle of mordre “to bite,” ultimately derived from Latin mordēre; -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of mordant¹

C15: from Old French: biting, from mordre to bite, from Latin mordēre

Example Sentences

The steady-paced, often mordantly funny “Pick a Color” explores the immigrant experience, the long tail of trauma, the indignities suffered by low-wage workers and their companion emotions: loneliness, loss and grief.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Via a wild final act, the nihilistic streak seen in many of Mr. Lanthimos’s previous movies emerges again, this time in an especially mordant way.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Stamina is what’s required of those born into an earthly reality, for which, to quote mordant Beckett, there is no cure.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His worst critics perceived this outlook as complacency, something insufficiently mordant for any writer of the long, wicked 20th century.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Martinez scatters ceramic roses across the painting, a mordant honorific to past glory and current hopes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• acerbic 
• biting 
• caustic 
• sardonic 
• scathing