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Mordant
01
a substance used to treat leather or other materials before dyeing; aids in dyeing process
mordant
01
(of a substance) capable of chemically treating other materials so as to corrode or set colors
Example
Tanners use mordant chemicals like alum, chrome, and vegetable tannins to set dyes and preserve animal hides during the leather-making process.
Many early photographic developers contained mildly mordant ingredients like potassium ferricyanide that helped sensitize and fix images on paper.
Etching is a printmaking method that employs a mordant substance like acid to corrode and thereby incise an image onto a metal plate.
02
having a quality that is criticizing and harsh, yet humorous
Example
She wrote a mordant review of the movie, combining sharp criticism with dark humor.
His mordant humor often masks his true feelings about the issues he discusses.
The satirical piece used mordant humor to expose the flaws in the new policy.
