Adjacent Words

Mordant definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MOR'DANT, n. A substance which has a chimical affinity for coloring matter and serves to fix colors; such as alum.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: harshly ironic or sinister; "black humor"; "a grim joke"; "grim laughter"; "fun ranging from slapstick clowning ... to savage mordant wit" [syn: black, grim, mordant]
2: of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action [syn: caustic, corrosive, erosive, vitriolic, mordant] n
1: a substance used to treat leather or other materials before dyeing; aids in dyeing process

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle French, present participle of mordre to bite, from Latin mord?re; perhaps akin to Sanskrit m?dn?ti he presses, rubs Date: 15th century 1. biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style ; incisive <a mordant wit> 2. acting as a mordant 3. burning, pungent Synonyms: see caustic • mordantly adverb II. noun Date: 1791 1. a chemical that fixes a dye in or on a substance by combining with the dye to form an insoluble compound 2. a corroding substance used in etching III. transitive verb Date: 1836 to treat with a mordant

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 (of sarcasm etc.) caustic, biting. 2 pungent, smarting. 3 corrosive or cleansing. 4 (of a substance) serving to fix colouring-matter or gold leaf on another substance. --n. a mordant substance (in senses 3, 4 of adj.). Derivatives: mordancy n. mordantly adv. Etymology: ME f. F, part. of mordre bite f. L mordere

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mordant Mor"dant, a. [F., p. pr. of mordere to bite; L. mordere. See Morsel.] 1. Biting; caustic; sarcastic; keen; severe. 2. (Dyeing & Calico Printing) Serving to fix colors.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mordant Mor"dant, n. [F., originally, biting.] 1. Any corroding substance used in etching. 2. (Dyeing & Calico Printing) Any substance, as alum or copperas, which, having a twofold attraction for organic fibers and coloring matter, serves as a bond of union, and thus gives fixity to, or bites in, the dyes. 3. (Gilding) Any sticky matter by which the gold leaf is made to adhere.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mordant Mor"dant, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mordanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Mordanting.] To subject to the action of, or imbue with, a mordant; as, to mordant goods for dyeing.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Mordant humour is very critical and often mocks someone or something. (FORMAL) A wicked, mordant sense of humour has come to the fore in Blur's world. = caustic ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Biting, mordacious, keen, caustic, sarcastic, severe, satirical, nipping.

Moby Thesaurus

Attic, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, actual cautery, asperous, astringent, biting, bitter, brand, brand iron, branding iron, brilliant, caustic, cauter, cauterant, cauterizer, cautery, clever, corroding, corrosive, cutting, double-edged, driving, droll, edged, effective, electrocautery, escharotic, facetious, fierce, forceful, forcible, funny, gutsy, harsh, hot iron, humorous, humorsome, imperative, impressive, incisive, irritating, jesting, jocose, jocular, joking, joky, joshing, keen, keen-witted, lunar caustic, mordacious, moxa, nervous, nimble-witted, nose-tickling, penetrating, piercing, piquant, poignant, pointed, potential cautery, powerful, punchy, pungent, quick-witted, radium, rapier-like, rigorous, rough, salt, salty, scathing, scintillating, scorching, sensational, severe, sharp, sinewed, sinewy, slashing, smart, sour, sparkling, sprightly, stabbing, stinging, strident, striking, stringent, strong, tart, telling, trenchant, vehement, vigorous, violent, virulent, vital, vitriolic, whimsical, withering, witty