mordant
adjective
[ ˈmɔːd(ə)nt ]
• (especially of humour) having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting.
• "a mordant sense of humour"
Similar:
caustic,
trenchant,
biting,
cutting,
acerbic,
sardonic,
sarcastic,
scathing,
acid,
sharp,
keen,
tart,
pungent,
stinging,
astringent,
incisive,
devastating,
piercing,
rapier-like,
razor-edged,
critical,
bitter,
polemic,
virulent,
vitriolic,
venomous,
waspish,
corrosive,
acidulous,
mordacious,
mordant
noun
• a substance, typically an inorganic oxide, that combines with a dye or stain and thereby fixes it in a material.
• a corrosive liquid used to etch the lines on a printing plate.
mordant
verb
• impregnate or treat (a fabric) with a mordant.
• "mordanting a fibre is simple"
Origin:
late 15th century: from French, present participle of mordre ‘to bite’, from Latin mordere .
