sardonic
/sɑɹˈdɑnɪk/adjective
sardonic is spelled S-A-R-D-O-N-I-C: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,230th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sardonic means “Scornfully mocking or cynical” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sardonic?
| Letters | 8: S-A-R-D-O-N-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,230th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sardonic?
Sardonic appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,230th 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 sardonic?
- UK /sɑːˈdɒnɪk/
- US /sɑɹˈdɑnɪk/
- Australia /sɐːˈdɔnɪk/
Sardonic 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-sardonic.ogg, En-au-sardonic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sardonic?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sardonic from its last stressed vowel (/ɑnɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sardonic
- more sardonic comparative
- most sardonic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sardonic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Scornfully mocking or cynical.
He distances himself from people with his nasty, sardonic laughter.
- 2
Disdainfully or ironically humorous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sardonic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sardonique |
| German | hämisch, mokant , bitter, sarkastisch, sardonisch |
| Portuguese | sardónico, sardônico |
| Spanish | sardónico |
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 sardonic come from?
From French sardonique, from Latin sardonius, from Ancient Greek σαρδόνιος (sardónios), alternative form of σαρδάνιος (sardánios, “bitter or scornful laughter”), which is often cited as deriving from the Sardinian plant (Ranunculus sardous or possibly Oenanthe crocata), known as either σαρδάνη (sardánē) or σαρδόνιον (sardónion). When eaten, it would cause the eater's face to contort in a look resembling scorn (generally followed by death). It might also be related to σαίρω (saírō, “to grin”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).