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. See lake
   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

Derived Forms

• ˈmordancy, noun
• ˈmordantly, adverb

Other Words From

• mordant·ly adverb
• un·mordant adjective
• un·mordant·ly adverb

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

Remove the fabric from the mordant and place it in the dye bath.

From Popular-Science

This is your mordant liquid, which removes finishing chemicals from your fabric and makes the dye adhere better to the cloth.

From Popular-Science

Yet, it fit so well with the mordant tenor of the game that I felt no compulsion to try to better Curdin’s fate.

From Washington Post

More than anything else he is cheery—mordant and ironic at times, but undauntedly optimistic.

From The Daily Beast

Such seemingly effortless—and mordant—improvisation can be a marvel to behold.

From The Daily Beast

Mischievous, more bite than bark in the sense that it was mordant with minimal rhetoric, Heaney was not genteel.

From The Daily Beast

"Mordant" is the word I think I want to describe his conversation.

From The Daily Beast

I like that the emotional lives of women are tinged with a kind of mordant humor for the most part.

From The Daily Beast

In some cases the mordant is added to the dye liquid; in others the material is previously treated with it before being colored.

From Project Gutenberg

Lime is sometimes used as a mordant but the straws are usually first treated with kolis leaves.

From Project Gutenberg

The king sent him back the picture, mordant epigrams appeared in the journals, and Reynolds scoffed at him in his Discourses.

From Project Gutenberg

His mordant reply to the questioning pay-clerk was: "Yes, I am a mason."

From Project Gutenberg

The first act seemed gay and lively, with a sort of mordant raillery in it with which the audience was unfamiliar.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• acerbic
• biting
• caustic
• sardonic
• scathing