sardonicism


sar·don·ic

S0090600 (sär-dŏn′ĭk)adj.1. Scornfully or cynically mocking: a sardonic sense of humor.2. Given to making sardonic remarks: "He was proud, sardonic, harsh to inferiority of every description" (Charlotte Brontë).
[French sardonique, from Greek sardonios, alteration of sardanios; perhaps akin to sesērenai, to show the teeth, grin mockingly.]
sar·don′i·cal·ly adv.sar·don′i·cism (-ĭ-sĭz′əm) n.

sardonicism

a style of speaking or writing characterized by bitter, contemptuous, or scornful derision.See also: Language Style, Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices