mordicant
adjective·/ˈmɔːr.dɪ.kənt/
Biting in taste or tone; sharply caustic, as if words had teeth. Mordicant describes a sting that lingers, wit that draws blood.
His mordicant humor made the room laugh and flinch in the same breath.
Etymology
From Latin mordēre “to bite,” via a learned adjectival form. The word is honest about its method: speech as incision.
Related Words
acerbicsharp, sour in tone
causticburning, corrosive in speech
satiricalbiting by way of critique
mordanta common near-synonym, also “biting”