sarcasm
/ˈsɑːɹˌkæzəm/noun
sarcasm is spelled S-A-R-C-A-S-M: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sarcasm means “Use of acerbic language to mock or convey contempt, often using verbal irony and (in speech) often marked by overemphasis and sneering” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sarcasm is sarcasms.
How many letters and syllables are in sarcasm?
| Letters | 7: S-A-R-C-A-S-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.2 times per million words; the 12,578th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sarcasm?
Sarcasm appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sarcasm?
- US /ˈsɑːɹˌkæzəm/
- UK /ˈsɑːˌkæzəm/
Sarcasm has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sarcasm.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sarcasm
- sarcasms plural
- sarc
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sarcasm mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Use of acerbic language to mock or convey contempt, often using verbal irony and (in speech) often marked by overemphasis and sneering.
- 2
An individual act of the above.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate sarcasm?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of sarcasm: sarc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sarcasm in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense derision, facetiousness:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sarcasm come from?
From Late Latin sarcasmus, from Ancient Greek σαρκασμός (sarkasmós, “a sneer”), from σαρκάζω (sarkázō, “to gnash the teeth (in anger)”, literally “to strip off the flesh”), from σάρξ (sárx, “flesh”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).