mordant

[mawr-dnt] /ˈmɔr dnt/

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.

Origin

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

Related forms

mordantly, adverb

unmordant, adjective

unmordantly, adverb

Synonyms

1. cutting, stinging, acerbic, scathing.

Examples from the web for mordant

Fluid, mordant tales of articulate characters in crisis.
He showed himself a mordant editorialist with far-reaching influence.
But they are none the less mordant in their manners and handy with switch-blade knives.
The difference being you are so prone to launch unnecessary attacks or mordant quips unprovoked.
It presents a half-century of tragedy and turmoil as a series of mordant comic vignettes.
His experience shows in his sleek storytelling and mordant style, and in his actors' ideal deadpan performances.
These were defense lawyers, a mordant and heroic caste.
Founder of a website that changes minds about the environment with mordant wit instead of earnest gloom.
It was bleak and filled with mordant humor, but reviewers didn't think much of it.
And this is the baleful irony which the drama effectively conveys in a long, methodical and mordant crime-and-punishment account.

British Dictionary definitions for mordant

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, etc See also lake² (sense 1)

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

verb

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

Derived Forms

mordancy, noun
mordantly, adverb

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for mordant

adj.

late 15c., "caustic" (of words, speech), from Middle French mordant, literally "biting," present participle of mordre "to bite," from Latin mordere "to bite, bite into; nip, sting;" figuratively "to pain, cause hurt," perhaps from PIE root mer- (2) "to rub away, harm" (see smart (v.)). Related: Mordantly. The noun sense in dyeing is first recorded 1791; the adjective in this sense is from 1902. Related: Mordancy; mordantly.

mordant in Medicine

mordant mor·dant (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. mor·dant·ed, mor·dant·ing, mor·dants
To treat with a mordant.