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sardonic - 6 dictionary results
sar⋅don⋅ic
[sahr-don-ik] 
–adjective
| characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin. |
Origin:
1630–40; alter. of earlier sardonian (influenced by F sardonique) < L sardoni(us) (< Gk sardónios of Sardinia) + -an; alluding to a Sardinian plant which when eaten was supposed to produce convulsive laughter ending in death
1630–40; alter. of earlier sardonian (influenced by F sardonique) < L sardoni(us) (< Gk sardónios of Sardinia) + -an; alluding to a Sardinian plant which when eaten was supposed to produce convulsive laughter ending in death
Related forms:
sar⋅don⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
sar⋅don⋅i⋅cism, noun
Synonyms:
biting, mordant, contemptuous.
biting, mordant, contemptuous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To sardonic
| sar·don·ic (sär-dŏn'ĭk) adj. Scornfully or cynically mocking. See Synonyms at sarcastic. [French sardonique, from Greek sardonios, alteration of sardanios.] sar·don'i·cal·ly adv., sar·don'i·cism (-ĭ-sĭz'əm) n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
| Main Entry: | sardonic |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | scornful, mocking; disdainfully humorous |
| Etymology: | Greek sardonios 'derisive' |
Sardonic
Sar*don"ic\, a. [F. sardonique, L. sardonius, Gr. ?, ?, perhaps fr. ? to grin like a dog, or from a certain plant of Sardinia, Gr. ?, which was said to screw up the face of the eater.] Forced; unnatural; insincere; hence, derisive, mocking, malignant, or bitterly sarcastic; -- applied only to a laugh, smile, or some facial semblance of gayety. Where strained, sardonic smiles are glozing still, And grief is forced to laugh against her will. --Sir H. Wotton. The scornful, ferocious, sardonic grin of a bloody ruffian. --Burke. Sardonic grin or laugh, an old medical term for a spasmodic affection of the muscles of the face, giving it an appearance of laughter.Sardonic
Sar*don"ic\, a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a kind of linen made at Colchis.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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sardonic
1638, from Fr. sardonique (16c.), from L. sardonius (but as if from L. *sardonicus) in Sardonius risus, loan-translation of Gk. sardonios (gelos) "of bitter or scornful (laughter)," altered from Homeric sardanios (of uncertain origin) by influence of Sardonios "Sardinian," because the Greeks believed that eating a certain plant they called sardonion (lit. "plant from Sardinia," see Sardinia) caused facial convulsions resembling those of sardonic laughter, usually followed by death. For nuances of usage, see humor.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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