Sardonic grin

Sardonic grin
Sardonic Sar*don"ic, a. [F. sardonique, L. sardonius, Gr. ?, ?, perhaps fr. ? to grin like a dog, or from a certain plant of Sardinia, Gr. ?, which was said to screw up the face of the eater.] Forced; unnatural; insincere; hence, derisive, mocking, malignant, or bitterly sarcastic; -- applied only to a laugh, smile, or some facial semblance of gayety. [1913 Webster]

Where strained, sardonic smiles are glozing still, And grief is forced to laugh against her will. --Sir H. Wotton. [1913 Webster]

The scornful, ferocious, sardonic grin of a bloody ruffian. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

{Sardonic grin} or {Sardonic laugh}, an old medical term for a spasmodic affection of the muscles of the face, giving it an appearance of laughter. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • sardonic grin — noun or sardonic laugh Etymology: translation of New Latin risus sardonicus : risus sardonicus …   Useful english dictionary

  • sardonic grin — SYN: risus caninus …   Medical dictionary

  • Sardonic — Sar*don ic, a. [F. sardonique, L. sardonius, Gr. ?, ?, perhaps fr. ? to grin like a dog, or from a certain plant of Sardinia, Gr. ?, which was said to screw up the face of the eater.] Forced; unnatural; insincere; hence, derisive, mocking,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sardonic laugh — Sardonic Sar*don ic, a. [F. sardonique, L. sardonius, Gr. ?, ?, perhaps fr. ? to grin like a dog, or from a certain plant of Sardinia, Gr. ?, which was said to screw up the face of the eater.] Forced; unnatural; insincere; hence, derisive,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • grin — I n. a broad; contagious, infectious; foolish, silly; sardonic grin II v. (D; intr.) to grin at * * * [grɪn] contagious foolish infectious sardonic grin silly (D; intr.) to grin at a broad …   Combinatory dictionary

  • grin — Synonyms and related words: beam, bright smile, broad grin, crack a smile, ear to ear grin, gleaming smile, glowing smile, grinning, idiotic grin, sardonic grin, simper, smile, smile brightly, smiling, smirk, stupid grin, toothful grin …   Moby Thesaurus

  • sardonic — sardonically, adv. sardonicism, n. /sahr don ik/, adj. characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin. [1630 40; alter. of earlier sardonian (influenced by F sardonique) < L sardoni(us) ( < Gk sardónios… …   Universalium

  • sardonic — sar•don•ic [[t]sɑrˈdɒn ɪk[/t]] adj. characterized by scornful derision or bitter irony; mocking; cynical: a sardonic grin[/ex] • Etymology: 1630–40; alter. of earlier sardonian (influenced by F sardonique) < L sardoni(us) (< Gk sardónios of …   From formal English to slang

  • sardonic — /saˈdɒnɪk / (say sah donik) adjective bitterly ironical; sarcastic; sneering: a sardonic grin. {French sardonique, from Latin Sardonius, from Greek Sardonios Sardinian, for earlier sardanios bitter, scornful, from the notion of a Sardinian plant… …  

  • sardonic laugh — noun see sardonic grin …   Useful english dictionary

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