English edit

Etymology edit

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

Adjective edit

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 edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

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Further reading edit