mordant
adjectiveUK /ˈmɔːdənt/
US /ˈmɔːrdənt/
Saying something in a sharp, funny way that stings a little.
Her mordant joke about the meeting made everyone laugh and wince at once.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A substance used to fix dye so it stays on cloth.
The dyer added a mordant to the bath so the red would not wash out.
3. A substance that eats into metal, used in etching.
The artist dipped the plate in a mordant to carve the lines.
4. Biting or corrosive in a physical sense.
The mordant acid slowly ate through the metal sheet.