Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Biting; given to biting.
- Acrid; violent in action.
- Sarcastic.
Wiktionary
- adj. Biting, causing a physical bite or sting; corrosive
- adj. sharp or caustic in style or tone.
- adj. Prone to biting, aggressive (of an animal etc.).
- adj. Sharp in intent, sarcastic
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Biting; given to biting; hence, figuratively, sarcastic; severe; scathing.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. capable of wounding
- adj. biting or given to biting
Etymologies
- Latin mordāx, mordāc- (from mordēre, to bite; see mer- in Indo-European roots) + -ious.
Examples
“You must forgive the Maestra for her characteristic mordacious tone, Consejal Pejeno," Betina du Zabala of the Gremio Poetica said, smiling oddly at her great rival.”
“But with one great and splendid virtue was he endowed in the eyes of the enemies of the House of Borgia -- contemporary, and subsequent down to our times -- a most profound, unchristian, and mordacious hatred of all”
“Calvinist, vented in his writings a mordacious hatred of the Papacy and of the religion from which he had seceded.”
“Hard, mordacious, no man's friend ... that was the”
“But with one great and splendid virtue was he endowed in the eyes of the enemies of the House of Borgia -- contemporary, and subsequent down to our times -- a most profound, unchristian, and mordacious hatred of all Borgias.”
The Life of Cesare Borgia
“This Tommaso Tommasi, whose real name was Gregorio Leti -- and it is under this that such works of his as are reprinted are published nowadays -- was a most prolific author of the seventeenth century, who, having turned Calvinist, vented in his writings a mordacious hatred of the Papacy and of the religion from which he had seceded.”
The Life of Cesare Borgia
“Unable longer to endure the lash of his mordacious wit, Shaynon turned and left them alone on the balcony.”
“his name is elijah sandalphon. i'm mordacious schadenfreude. we are going to wrestle. cage match.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘mordacious’.
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Figuratively
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