Sarcasm is a figure of speech in which words are deployed to convey the opposite of their literal meaning, typically for humor, irony, or social criticism. Parameters: (1) utterance — a statement whose surface meaning contradicts the intended meaning, (2) context — shared knowledge between speaker and listener that signals the reversal, (3) intent — the speaker's aim to signal incongruity rather than deceive. Persistence mechanism: sarcasm persists through the conventions of pragmatic language use, taught implicitly in language acquisition and explicitly in literary and rhetorical education, sustained by the social practice of reading between the lines. [formal: sarcasmus | substrate: behavior | horizon: hours | explicit: no | epoch: 0.18]
Accepted ontology entry
sarcasm
Sarcasm is a figure of speech in which words are deployed to convey the opposite of their literal meaning, typically for humor, irony, or social criticism. Parameters: (1) utterance — a statement whose surface meaning contradicts the inten…
Definition
Why it is in scope
a human-made figure of speech in which words are used to mean the opposite of their literal sense, typically for humor, irony, or criticism; built to persist through literary tradition, social practice, and the shared conventions of pragmatic language use
Names and aliases
- sarcasmen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmr784qq1000ks126wltnuaxhDEPENDS_ON →
Test: remove language (the system of conventional spoken/written symbols), does sarcasm stop? Yes. Sarcasm is the gap between literal and intended meaning — a phenomenon that requires language to exist. Without language there is no literal meaning to violate, and thus no sarcasm. This is constitutive, not facilitative.
- cmruyq1js000dfb02878ufa4sINSTANCE_OF →
Direction tested: INSTANCE_OF (specific→general). Sarcasm is a specific kind of speech act — it uses the mechanism of saying something while meaning its opposite, serving a particular communicative function. A competent speaker would call sarcasm 'a type of speech act.' Files against nearest kind.
- cmrmsy9cx01lmd1nlhq6u8fmiINSTANCE_OF →
Sarcasm is a specific kind of irony — verbal irony used to mock or ridicule. A competent speaker would call sarcasm 'a form of irony.' Direction: specific (sarcasm) → general (irony).
- cmrndxcc1028fd1nljt9cekpdSERVES →
Sarcasm is maintained for the sake of humor - its designed purpose is to produce humorous effect through sharp, mocking remark. Law 8d: servant(sarcasm)->master(humor). The removal test: remove humor from sarcasm and it becomes mere insult, losing its characteristic function.
- cmrndxcc1028fd1nljt9cekpdINSTANCE_OF →
Sarcasm is a specific kind of humor — verbal irony used to mock or convey contempt. The competent-speaker test passes: 'sarcasm is a kind of humor.' Per Law 9, specific→general. This also fits Law 9a: sarcasm is not an instance of its own property (irony) but a specific case of the general category (humor).
- cmrmf7wqp001sd1nlgdko4rbiSERVES →
Sarcasm is a rhetorical device — its designed purpose is to mock through ironic expression, serving rhetoric. Per Law 8d: for whose sake? The servant (sarcasm) points at the master (rhetoric).
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 19, 2026, 1:27 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 2ee888d72ebc5cdf1356321a062f456d0f15628267b4204f2302f245b311eb0f