sarcasm
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sarcasm
Biting, hurtful mockery that often means the opposite of what is said, in order to make someone or something look ridiculous.
„Das hast du ja wieder toll gemacht“, sagte er mit beißendem Sarkasmus, als das Glas zerbrach.
"Well, you did a great job again," he said with biting sarcasm when the glass broke.
Sarcasm is often not named directly, but signaled through tone of voice and context. A statement is sarcastic when the situation clearly shows that the opposite of what was said is meant.
Sein Lob war voller Sarkasmus, denn in Wahrheit war er sehr unzufrieden.
His praise was full of sarcasm, because in truth he was very dissatisfied.
To describe the type of mockery, 'Sarkasmus' (sarcasm) is often combined with adjectives like 'beißend' (biting), 'trocken' (dry), or 'bitter' (bitter).
Mit trockenem Sarkasmus kommentierte er die absurde Situation.
With dry sarcasm, he commented on the absurd situation.
A common construction is the use with the preposition 'mit' (with) to describe the manner of an utterance, for example 'etwas mit Sarkasmus sagen' (to say something with sarcasm).
Sie antwortete mit einer Spur von Sarkasmus in der Stimme.
She answered with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
irony
Both words can describe a statement whose meaning differs from its literal words. Ironie can be harmless or humorous, whereas Sarkasmus additionally expresses biting and hurtful mockery. Ironie fits a joking tone; Sarkasmus is more appropriate when the effect is hurtful.
Mit Sarkasmus sagte er dem verspäteten Kollegen, dieser sei heute besonders pünktlich.
Using sarcasm, he told the late colleague that they were especially punctual today.
Mit Ironie sagte sie, der verspätete Zug sei heute besonders pünktlich.
Using irony, she said that the delayed train was especially punctual today.
