- a variation of mordent.
mordant
Americanadjective
noun
-
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.
-
an adhesive substance for binding gold or silver leaf to a surface.
-
an acid or other corrosive substance used in etching to eat out the lines, areas, etc.
-
Music. mordent.
verb (used with object)
-
mordants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mordanted,
past participle, past
-
mordanting
present participle
adjective
-
sarcastic or caustic
-
having the properties of a mordant
-
pungent
noun
-
a substance used before the application of a dye, possessing the ability to fix colours in textiles, leather, etc See also lake 2
-
an acid or other corrosive fluid used to etch lines on a printing plate
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mordantsimple
-
mordantssimple
-
have mordantedperfect
-
has mordantedperfect
-
am mordantingprogressive
-
are mordantingprogressive
-
is mordantingprogressive
-
have been mordantingperfect progressive
-
has been mordantingperfect progressive
Past
-
mordantedsimple
-
had mordantedperfect
-
was mordantingprogressive
-
were mordantingprogressive
-
had been mordantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mordant
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French, present participle of mordre “to bite,” ultimately derived from Latin mordēre; see -ant
Explanation
If you like Edgar Allan Poe and "The Addams Family," you have a taste for mordant entertainment — that is, anything particularly grim or dark in nature. The original meaning of mordant (which comes from the Latin word modere, meaning "to bite or sting,") was that of a physical substance that literally bit into something, such as the one used to set dye into fabrics, or etch lines into a copper plate. Now, mordant generally refers to a dark or biting artistic style, sense of humor, or psychological outlook.
Vocabulary lists containing mordant
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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.
See Examples For:
Ms. Arnott’s sharply observed novel delivers a well-balanced blend of suspense, mordant wit and social commentary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
The fascinated Kayleen, clearly outclassed in the first round of the ailment and injury competition that forms the mordant spine of the play, asks to see and touch Doug’s wound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
Before that, Serra could most often be found mining France’s centuries past for mordant tableau vivants of corporeal concern, most notably in his protracted bedchamber drama “The Death of Louis XIV.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2025
Instead, war broke out across Europe, and Asquith made his mordant headache joke on the way to the historical dumpster.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024
The dwarf had been whetting the edge of his axe and making some mordant jest when Bronn spotted the banner the riders carried before them, the moon-and-falcon of House Arryn, sky-blue and white.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Options already exist for fixing dyes without lead, including natural mordants derived from plants rich in tannins, such as oak bark, pomegranate peel and rosemary, as well as alum, which is considered environmentally safe.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026
“And the mordants too. You must learn those. Sometimes sumac. Tree galls are good. Some lichens. “Best is — here, come; let me show you.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
The most important are the mineral mordants, such as the alumina, the iron, the tin, and the chrome.
From Philippine Mats Philippine Craftsman Reprint Series No. 1 by Hugo H. Miller
Different mordants give different colours with the same dye stuff.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Ethel M. Mairet
Its dyeing properties resemble those of Quercitron Bark, but the yellows with aluminium and tin mordants are much brighter and purer, and also faster to light.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 8 "Dubner" to "Dyeing" by Various
It crystallizes from alcohol in yellowish red needles, and dyes silk, wool, and mordanted cotton a fine pink colour.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various
The dyeing operation consists in working the mordanted material in a solution of the necessary colouring matter, the dyebath being gradually raised to the boiling point.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 8 "Dubner" to "Dyeing" by Various
With cream of tartar it is used sometimes as an ordinary mordant before dyeing, but the colours so produced have no advantage over colours mordanted by easier methods.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Ethel M. Mairet
The cotton is impregnated with this sulphated-oil solution, dried, mordanted with aluminium acetate, dyed, dried, steamed and soaped.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 8 "Dubner" to "Dyeing" by Various
Some dye-stuffs, such as logwood for blacks, work best when the wool is mordanted with chromic acid, which is effected when sulphuric acid is the assistant mordant.
From The Dyeing of Woollen Fabrics by Franklin Beech
Bright and fast orange yellows are got by mordanting with 8 per cent stannous chloride instead of alum.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Ethel M. Mairet
The wool is first dyed in the blue vat; then washed and dried; then after mordanting, dyed in the yellow bath.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Ethel M. Mairet
They are decorated with colored buri straw, usually in some shade of red produced by mordanting with kolis leaves and boiling with sappan wood as explained for buri straw.
From Philippine Mats Philippine Craftsman Reprint Series No. 1 by Hugo H. Miller
It is then well washed, and is ready for mordanting.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Ethel M. Mairet
In place of giving a second oiling after the dyeing, it is, perhaps, better to give it after the mordanting and before dyeing.
From The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics A Practical Handbook for the Dyer and Student by Franklin Beech
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.
