Sarcasm: Definition, Meaning and Examples
Sarcasm is saying the opposite of what you mean in order to mock, criticise, or possibly even wound. "Oh, brilliant," muttered as the train pulls away without you, is sarcasm. So is "Lovely weather for it" in a downpour. Classic "Brit-isms". Essentially, the words say one thing, the tone says another, and everybody - except possibly the target - knows which one to believe. Or, at least, that's the hope.
A slightly more formal definition: sarcasm is the use of language that subverts the user's true meaning or position in order to be scathing or attacking. Specifically, sarcasm is designed to be cutting (or wounding) to a third party in one's subversive use of language. That's the key ingredient. Sarcasm has a victim. Irony doesn't need one.
Where the word comes from
The roots of the word sarcasm are Greek. It comes to us through Late Latin sarcasmus, further from the Greek sarkasmos, which derives from the verb sarkazein - literally "to tear flesh", like a dog might, and by extension "to gnash the teeth" or "to bite the lips in rage"1. The root is sarx, meaning flesh, which also gives us sarcophagus (a "flesh-eater") and sarcoma. Love a derivation!
So when someone tells you your sarcasm "really bit", they are being more etymologically accurate than they know. The word arrived in English in the late 1500s2, and it has been taking chunks out of people ever since. Maybe "bite me" comes from a similar source. Who knows?!
Sarcasm vs irony: so what is the difference?
Sarcasm can be ironic, especially if expressed without making it clear that the user is being sarcastic. But the two are not the same thing, and confusing them is one of the more forgivable sins committed against the English language (we have a whole page of the unforgivable ones).
The simplest way to put it: sarcasm is a type of verbal irony with a target and a sharp edge. All sarcasm says something other than what it means. Not all saying-something-other-than-what-you-mean is sarcasm.
| Sarcasm | Irony | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A remark that means the opposite of what it says | A gap between what's said or expected and what's meant or happens |
| Has a victim? | Yes - always someone or something on the receiving end | Not necessarily |
| Intent | To mock, criticise, or wound | Can be playful, poignant, tragic or entirely accidental |
| Can it happen by accident? | No - sarcasm is always deliberate | Yes - situational irony needs nobody's permission |
| Example | "Oh, great idea," to someone who has just suggested something awful | A fire station burning down |
Put that last example of irony another way: a fire station burning down. Telling the chief fire officer "Well, that's going well," as he watches it happen, is sarcastic. Both can be funny in their own way. But remarking the latter may get you marched away by people in uniform.
Examples of sarcasm
Most sarcasm is so ordinary that we hardly notice it. A few everyday examples:
- "Thanks for your help." - to the colleague who watched you carry a photocopier up the stairs.
- "What a surprise." - when the train is late. Again.
- "No, please, keep going. I love seeing your baby photos."
- "Clearly you've thought this through." - to anyone about to attempt something with a strong spirit and a dodgy lighter.
- "Oh, you decided to head in early today." - to someone strolling in forty minutes late.
Modern uses of sarcasm are more often used for ridicule or mild humiliation - not necessarily to be deeply cutting, but more as a way of mocking a target by expressing something at odds with reality, especially when everyone is aware of that but the target. An example of this use of sarcasm can be seen in the Wayne's World films:
Garth: I'm having a good time... not! - Wayne's World (1992)
The "...not!" construction is sarcasm with a fancy hat on - it does the job, but it explains itself in case you missed it. British comedy employs preferred its sarcasm without the safety announcement. Blackadder's withering politeness towards Baldrick, or almost anything Basil Fawlty says to a guest, works precisely because the words are courteous and the meaning is murderous.
Sarcasm is far older than television, of course. Shakespeare was fond of it, and so, rather more surprisingly, is the Bible. We've collected the best examples on our page about sarcasm in literature.
How do you know when someone is being sarcastic?
In speech, sarcasm is mostly carried by tone. Within the last few decades, as sarcasm has become more prevalent in society, it is no longer the case that sarcasm is always delivered "dead-pan" - more often than not it is delivered with emphasis that (kinda) ought not be there. The tell-tale signs:
- A flat or exaggerated tone - either no enthusiasm at all, or far too much of it.
- Stress on the wrong word - "Oh, that's helpful."
- A mismatch with the situation - praise for something objetively bad, or delight at something quite clearly awful.
- The face - the eye-roll, the raised eyebrow, the smile that stops well short of the eyes.
The deadpan variety - where none of those clues is offered - is the purest form. Done well, it is very funny. Done to the wrong person, it is taken entirely at face value and you spend the next six months being forced to endlessly view further baby photos.
Sarcasm in text messages and online
Remove the tone of voice and the face, and sarcasm quickly becomes a tricky beast. "Great, thanks" in a text message could be heartfelt gratitude or barely-suppressed fury, and there is often no way of telling which until you see the person.
People have been trying to solve this problem in writing for centuries. Even so far back as the 1580s the English printer Henry Denham proposed a reversed question mark - the "percontation point" (⸮) - to mark a rhetorical question3. It never caught on, which this author thinks is a darned shame. Various "sarcasm marks" have been proposed since, including a commercial one in 2010 that you were expected to pay for, which is possibly the most sarcastic thing ever to happen to punctuation. Punctuation NFT anyone⸮
The internet's own solution is blunter, but has a charm to it. On Reddit and elsewhere, people add /s at the end of a sarcastic post, so that nobody mistakes it for a sincere opinion - or a j/k (just kidding) when that feels better. It works, but it is the written equivalent of Garth's "...not!" - by the time you've explained the joke, it's no longer really sarcasm.
Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit
Most people are familiar with the phrase. It is often attributed to Oscar Wilde, but we were unable to trace it to him or anyone else, and have certainly heard it enough times to know that people have begun to think of sarcasm in those terms. Interestingly, we also hear a number of extensions:
Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit... but is also the funniest.
Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit... but the highest form of intelligence.
It seems that sarcasm is, by some, not regarded as a particularly witty or clever behavioural trait. In Sartor Resartus, Thomas Carlyle wrote of sarcasm:
Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the Devil; for which reason I have long since as good as renounced it. - Thomas Carlyle
A curious statement, however, since a number of Carlyle's friends and colleagues wrote of him that he enjoyed a writing style which closely resembled the sarcastic and ironic. Maybe he was the butt of someone else's sarcasm. Or perhaps he didn't quite "get it".
Interestingly, the "highest form of intelligence" crowd may have science on their side. A 2015 study by researchers at Harvard, Columbia and INSEAD found that both making and receiving sarcastic remarks boosted people's performance on creative problem-solving tasks. The theory here was that decoding the gap between what is said and what is meant is good exercise for the brain4. A puzzle, in essence - a less interactive form of the game "The Traitors", perhaps? The same study also found that sarcasm has the potential to cause conflict, which will not come as news to anyone who has ever been in a room with people who feel threatened by the slightest remark they haven't immediately understood.
Sarcasm: quick answers, in summary
What is the simple meaning of sarcasm?
Saying the opposite of what you mean, in order to mock or criticise. "Nice work" to someone who has just dropped the deleted the group project file, for example.
Is sarcasm the same as irony?
No. Sarcasm is one kind of verbal irony - the kind with a target and an intent to wound. Irony is much broader and can happen without anyone meaning it. See our definition of irony.
Is sarcasm rude?
It can be, for sure. Sarcasm between friends is usually affectionate; aimed at someone who can't answer back - a less musical form of a "diss track".
What is a sarcastic person called?
Sarcastic, mostly. A more literary option is a "cynic" or a "satirist", although satire aims at institutions and ideas rather than the person standing next to you. I'm pretty sure I've heard the term "sarcast" mentioned, but mostly by people who wear leather waistcoats.
Think you've spotted sarcasm masquerading as irony? Submit your example and let the community decide.
1 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition; see also Online Etymology Dictionary: sarcasm.
3 Keith Houston, Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks (2013).
4 Li Huang, Francesca Gino and Adam D. Galinsky, "The highest form of intelligence: Sarcasm increases creativity for both expressers and recipients", Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (2015).