sardonic

(sär-dŏn'ĭk)
adj.
Scornfully or cynically mocking. See synonyms at sarcastic.

[French sardonique, from Greek sardonios, alteration of sardanios.]

sardonically sar·don'i·cal·ly adv.
sardonicism sar·don'i·cism (-ĭ-sĭz'əm) n.

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What, conservatives can't be funny? A Slate roundup of front-page news talks about what John G. Roberts (likely the next Supreme Court justice) had been like when he was a law clerk for (now Chief) Justice William H. Rehnquist, and refers to:

"Roberts' memos from those days, which show off a surprisingly sardonic sense of humor."

Link: Maybe They Were Just a Little Spaced Out

Posted August 1, 2005.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

Marked by or displaying contemptuous mockery of the motives or virtues of others: cynic, cynical, ironic, ironical, wry. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, respect/contempt/standing.

For a list of words related to sardonic, see:

• Demanding, Critical, Calculating, or Selfish

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See words rhyming with "sardonic."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Sardonic.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - sardonisk, spotsk

Nederlands (Dutch)
sardonisch

Français (French)
adj. - sardonique, acerbe

Deutsch (German)
adj. - sardonisch, höhnisch

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - σαρδόνιος

Italiano (Italian)
sardonico

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - sârdonico

Русский (Russian)
злобный, сардонический

Español (Spanish)
adj. - sardónico

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - sardonisk, bitter, hånfull

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
嘲笑的, 讥讽的, 冷笑的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 嘲笑的, 譏諷的, 冷笑的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 조소적인, 비웃는, 빈정대는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 冷笑的な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) ساخر, تهكمي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮לגלגני, ציני, בז‬

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