mordant

[ mawr-dnt ]

/ ˈmɔr dnt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mordant ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

burning; corrosive.

having the property of fixing colors, as in dyeing.

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)

to impregnate or treat with a mordant.

Nearby words

morcha, mordacious, mordaciously, mordacity, mordancy, mordant, mordant rouge, mordantly, mordecai, mordent, mordida

Origin of mordant

1425–75; late Middle English < Middle French, present participle of mordre to bite ≪ Latin mordēre; see -ant

SYNONYMS FOR mordant

1 cutting, stinging, acerbic, scathing.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mordant ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

mor·dant·ly, adverbun·mor·dant, adjectiveun·mor·dant·ly, adverb

Definition for mordant (2 of 2)

mordent

or mor·dant

[ mawr-dnt ]

/ ˈmɔr dnt /

noun Music.

a melodic embellishment consisting of a rapid alternation of a principal tone with the tone a half or a whole step below it, called single or short when the auxiliary tone occurs once and double or long when this occurs twice or more.

inverted mordent.

Origin of mordent

1800–10; < German < Italian mordente biting < Latin mordent-, stem of mordēns, present participle of mordēre to bite; see -ent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mordant

Such seemingly effortless—and mordant—improvisation can be a marvel to behold.
The Stacks: Robin Williams, More Than A Shtick Figure|Joe Morgenstern|August 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mischievous, more bite than bark in the sense that it was mordant with minimal rhetoric, Heaney was not genteel.
Robert Pinsky: The Comedy of Seamus Heaney|Robert Pinsky|October 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
"Mordant" is the word I think I want to describe his conversation.
Robert Bork, RIP|David Frum|December 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I like that the emotional lives of women are tinged with a kind of mordant humor for the most part.
Broadway's Comeback Kid|Kevin Sessums|November 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Bradlee is, at times, funny, mordant, surprisingly perceptive and disturbingly naïve.
An Ordinary, Extraordinary Life|Barbara Kantrowitz|March 31, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Boil the goods in a mordant of alum and sulphate of iron, then pass them through a bath of madder.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
What did poor Haydon (for I have read the book) get by his mordant gift of satire and his devouring thirst for ink?
The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton|Mrs. Russell Barrington
The mordant for a full red may be acetate of alumina, of spec.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
On wool, catechu yields khaki browns in single bath by using copper sulphate as the mordant.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various
In this case the astringent matter plays the part of a mordant.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for mordant (1 of 2)

mordant

/ (ˈmɔːdənt) /

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, etcSee also lake 2 (def. 1)

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

verb

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

Derived Forms

mordancy, nounmordantly, adverb

Word Origin for mordant

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

British Dictionary definitions for mordant (2 of 2)

mordent

/ (ˈmɔːdənt) /

noun

music a melodic ornament consisting of the rapid alternation of a note with a note one degree lower than itAlso called: lower mordent

Word Origin for mordent

C19: from German, from Italian mordente, from mordere to bite

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for mordant

mordant

[ môr′dnt ]

adj.

Serving to fix colors in dyeing.

n.

A reagent, such as tannic acid, that fixes dyes to cells, tissues, or other materials.

v.

To treat with a mordant.