mordacious

English

Etymology

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

Adjective

mordacious (comparative more mordacious, superlative most mordacious)

Biting, causing a physical bite or sting; corrosive
sharp or caustic in style or tone.
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.
Sharp in intent, sarcastic

Derived terms

Related terms

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)