sardonically.

With grimly mocking or bitterly derisive humor.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• sardonically remark
• sardonically smile

On the page

He sardonically remarked that the promised efficiency had produced three new forms to complete.

The narrator smiled sardonically at an explanation he considered convenient rather than credible.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Invariable adverb; use more or most only where natural. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: style analysis, interpretation, characterization, rhetorical contrast. Disciplines: literary analysis, prose writing, advanced general English. Commonness: moderately common.