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Webster 1913 Edition

Sardonic

Sar-don′ic

,
Adj.
[F.
sardonique
, L.
sardonius
, Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK], perhaps fr. [GREEK] to grin like a dog, or from a certain plant of
Sardinia
, Gr. [GREEK], 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
Sardonic laugh
,
an old medical term for a spasmodic affection of the muscles of the face, giving it an appearance of laughter.

Sar-don′ic

,
Adj.
Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a kind of linen made at Colchis.

Definition 2024

sardonic

sardonic

English

Adjective

sardonic ‎(comparative more sardonic, superlative most sardonic)

  1. Scornfully mocking or cynical.
    He distances himself from people with his nasty, sardonic laughter.
    • Sir H. Wotton
      strained, sardonic smiles
    • Burke
      the scornful, ferocious, sardonic grin of a bloody ruffian
  2. Disdainfully or ironically humorous.
    • 1979, Carl Deroux, editor, Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History [Collection Latomus; 164], volume 1, Brussels: Latomus, OCLC 5900307, page 111:
      Another manifestation, significantly reaching its apogee in the midst of Antonine virtues, was the growing popularity of adoxographical exercises. Mock panegyrics were dashed off, not just by sardonic intellectuals such as Lucian, but also by trained courtiers and polished encomiasts of the stamp of [Marcus Cornelius] Fronto.

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Translations

Etymology

From French sardonique, from Latin sardonius, from Ancient Greek σαρδόνιος ‎(sardónios), alternative form of σαρδάνιος ‎(sardánios, “bitter or scornful laughter”), which is often cited as deriving from the Sardinian plant (Ranunculus sardous), known as either σαρδάνη ‎(sardánē) or σαρδόνιον ‎(sardónion). When eaten, it would cause the eater's face to contort in a look resembling scorn (generally followed by death). It might also be related to σαίρω ‎(saírō, “I grin”).

Pronunciation

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