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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

sarky en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /sɑɹkiː/ (General-American)
  • /sɑːkiː/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From sarc (“sarcasm”) + -y.

Meanings

  1. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, informal) Synonym of sarcastic.
    • Why are you so sarky? 1912 February 1, D.H. Lawrence, letter
    • It would seem that during his Bournemouth team’s recent 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United, referee Jon Moss gave the hosts some “soft fouls” and made “little sarky comments” that “didn’t help”. 2020 February 12, Scott Murray, “Dan Gosling, Jon Moss and breath-freshening hard candy”, in The Guardian:
    • Full of Coxon's trademark sarky lyricism, this 14-track concept album celebrates and laments the bittersweet nature of love, avoiding being dull or mawkish by being so gorgeous and satisfyingly coherent. 2006 February 19, Nosheen Iqbal, “Graham Coxon, Love Travels at Illegal Speeds”, in The Observer:
    • Zilch at the bookshop. The little fat one wasn't backstage at all. The thin sarky one briefly, but he was with Colin Smy all the time. 1998 March 29, Caroline Graham, “Death of a Hollow Man”, in Midsomer Murders:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
sarkiest Degree=Sup lexicographic
sarkier Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Deriveds

sarkiness · sarkily

Synonyms

sarcastic