mordacious

English

Etymology

From Latin mordax (“given to biting, corrosive”) (from mordere (“to bite, sting”)) + -ious.

Adjective

mordacious (comparative more mordacious, superlative most mordacious)

1. Biting, causing a physical bite or sting; corrosive
2. sharp or caustic in style or tone.
3. Prone to biting, aggressive (of an animal etc.).
   • 1856, Samuel Klinefelter Hoshour, Letters to Squire Pedant, in the East, page 13:

     Not gyved with connubial relations, I entered upon my migration entirely isolated, with the exception of a canine quadruped whose mordacious, latrant, lusorious, and venatic qualities, are without parity.

4. Sharp in intent, sarcastic

Derived terms

• mordaciously
• mordacity

Related terms

• mordant
• mordancy

Translations

biting, causing a bite or sting

• Bulgarian: хаплив (bg) (hapliv)
• Dutch: bijtend (nl), scherp (nl)
• Russian: е́дкий (ru) (jédkij)

corrosive — see corrosive

biting, sharp or caustic in style or tone

• Bulgarian: язвителен (bg) (jazvitelen)
• Dutch: bijtend (nl), scherp (nl)
• Hungarian: csípős (hu), metsző (hu)
• Russian: язви́тельный (ru) (jazvítelʹnyj), е́дкий (ru) (jédkij)
• Spanish: mordaz (es)

prone to biting

• Bulgarian: хаплив (bg) (hapliv)
• Dutch: bijtend (nl), bijtgraag (nl)
• Russian: куса́чий (ru) (kusáčij)
• Spanish: mordedor (es)

sharp in intent, sarcastic

• Bulgarian: саркастичен (bg) (sarkastičen)
• Dutch: bijtend (nl), bitter (nl), sarcastisch (nl), scherp (nl)
• Russian: язви́тельный (ru) (jazvítelʹnyj), е́дкий (ru) (jédkij)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} mordant (fr), ^{(please verify)} mordicant (fr), ^{(please verify)} corrosif (fr), ^{(please verify)} caustique (fr)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 辛辣です
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} mordaz (es)

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “mordacious”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.