mordacity means the quality of being mordacious; biting severity, or sarcastic quality. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “mordacity” is a great word
MORDACITY — [Noun] The quality of being mordacious, characterized by biting severity or a sarcastic, caustic nature. From Latin mordacitas, from mordac- (stem of mordax, meaning "given to biting" or "biting") + the abstract noun suffix -itas (-ity). Unlike acerbity, which denotes a raw bitterness of temper, or persiflage, which is mere light and teasing banter, mordacity is wit weaponized into a precise and surgical instrument. It is the critic’s eviscerating turn of phrase, the coiled insult delivered *sotto voce*, the retort that hangs in the air with the chill of a clean puncture wound—a testament that language’s most civilized tools remain, at heart, instruments of predation.
Etymology
From Latin mordacitas. Compare French mordacité. See mordacious.
noun
- The quality of being mordacious; biting severity, or sarcastic quality.“such things as have very thin parts , yet notwithstanding are without all acrirumony or mordacity”