mordant
having the property of fixing colors, as in dyeing.
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.
to impregnate or treat with a mordant.
Origin of mordant
1Other words for mordant
1 | cutting, stinging, acerbic, scathing |
Other words from mordant
- mor·dant·ly, adverb
- un·mor·dant, adjective
- un·mor·dant·ly, adverb
Words Nearby mordant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use mordant in a sentence
More than anything else he is cheery—mordant and ironic at times, but undauntedly optimistic.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTMischievous, more bite than bark in the sense that it was mordant with minimal rhetoric, Heaney was not genteel.
"mordant" is the word I think I want to describe his conversation.
I like that the emotional lives of women are tinged with a kind of mordant humor for the most part.
In some cases the mordant is added to the dye liquid; in others the material is previously treated with it before being colored.
Philippine Mats | Hugo H. MillerLime is sometimes used as a mordant but the straws are usually first treated with kolis leaves.
Philippine Mats | Hugo H. MillerThe king sent him back the picture, mordant epigrams appeared in the journals, and Reynolds scoffed at him in his Discourses.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4) | Richard MutherHis mordant reply to the questioning pay-clerk was: "Yes, I am a mason."
The Stones of Paris in History and Letters, Volume I (of 2) | Benjamin Ellis MartinThe first act seemed gay and lively, with a sort of mordant raillery in it with which the audience was unfamiliar.
The English Stage | Augustin Filon
British Dictionary definitions for mordant
/ (ˈmɔːdənt) /
sarcastic or caustic
having the properties of a mordant
pungent
a substance used before the application of a dye, possessing the ability to fix colours in textiles, leather, etc: See also lake 2 (def. 1)
an acid or other corrosive fluid used to etch lines on a printing plate
(tr) to treat (a fabric, yarn, etc) with a mordant
Origin of mordant
1Derived forms of mordant
- mordancy, noun
- mordantly, adverb
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
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