mordant

/ˈmȯr-dᵊnt/

Middle French, present participle of mordre to bite, from Latin mordēre; perhaps akin to Sanskrit mṛdnāti he presses, rubs

adjective

  1. biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style : incisive

  2. acting as a mordant (as in dyeing)

  3. burning, pungent

a mordant wit

caustic mordant acrid scathing mean stingingly incisive. caustic suggests a biting wit. mordant suggests a wit that is used with deadly effectiveness.

noun

  1. a chemical that fixes a dye in or on a substance by combining with the dye to form an insoluble compound

  2. a corroding substance used in etching

verb

  1. to treat with a mordant