sarcastic
adjective
Simple meaning
Saying the opposite of what you really mean, often to mock, tease, criticize or make a joke.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sahrkastikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
sɑɹˈkæstɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
of a person
Having the personality trait of expressing sarcasm.
Containing sarcasm.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (of a person) Having the personality trait of expressing sarcasm.
Language described this way often sounds teasing, mocking, ironic or pointed. Between friends it can be funny and playful; aimed at someone who is upset or in a serious moment, it can come across as dismissive, cutting or critical.
- Emotional tone
- Context-dependent
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Context-dependent
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “sarcastic” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary from meanings, examples and other prompts.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.