---
title: sarcastically — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sarcastically» in the school dictionary: Sarcastically means saying something in a mocking way, where you say the opposite of what you mean in order to tease or hurt, like saying "Oh, great!" when something bad happens. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sarcastically

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, something, he, rain, she, brother · **What happens:** mean, say, mock, tease, hurt, happen · **To what, where:** something, mocking way, opposite, last biscuit, ball, eyes · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sarcastically» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [sarcastically in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sarcastically.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sarcastically means saying something in a mocking way, where you say the opposite of what you mean in order to tease or hurt, like saying "Oh, great!" when something bad happens.

<!-- fold The tree, 31 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:m1:1
# text = Sarcastically means saying something in a mocking way, where you say the opposite of what you mean in order to tease or hurt, like saying "Oh, great!" when something bad happens.
1	Sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	saying	say	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	ccomp	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	mocking	mock	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	amod	_	_
8	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	12	advmod	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	say	say	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	opposite	opposite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	14	nmod	_	_
17	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	mean	mean	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	acl:relcl	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	order	order	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	_
21	to	to	PART	TO	_	22	mark	_	_
22	tease	tease	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	advcl	_	_
23	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
24	hurt	hurt	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	22	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
26	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	27	mark	_	_
27	saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	24	advcl	_	_
28	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	31	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	Oh	oh	INTJ	UH	_	31	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	29	punct	_	_
31	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	31	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	31	punct	_	_
34	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	37	advmod	_	_
35	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	37	nsubj	_	_
36	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	35	amod	_	_
37	happens	happen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	31	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
38	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  | sarcastically *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund |  | something |  | a mocking way |  |  | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP PP.manner»: agent=Agent something=Theme in way=Manner |
| 3 | **mock** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | you | the opposite |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent opposite=Topic |
| 5 | **mean** | present | you |  |  |  |  | in order | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot in order=Attribute |
| 6 | **tease** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn ferret-35.6 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 7 | **hurt** | infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 8 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 9 | **happen** | present | something |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Oh, brilliant," he said sarcastically, as the rain started.

<!-- fold The tree, 9 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:x1:1
# text = "Oh, brilliant," he said sarcastically, as the rain started.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Oh	oh	INTJ	UH	_	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	brilliant	brilliant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
9	sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
14	started	start	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | he |  |  |  |  | sarcastically *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **start** | past | the rain |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Thanks a lot," she said sarcastically when her brother ate the last biscuit.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:x2:1
# text = "Thanks a lot," she said sarcastically when her brother ate the last biscuit.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Thanks	thanks	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	ccomp	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	lot	lot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
7	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
10	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	13	advmod	_	_
11	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	ate	eat	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	advcl	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	biscuit	biscuit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | she |  |  |  |  | sarcastically *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **eat** | past | her brother | the last biscuit |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent biscuit=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He clapped sarcastically when I dropped the ball.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:x3:1
# text = He clapped sarcastically when I dropped the ball.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	clapped	clap	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	dropped	drop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **clap** | past | He |  |  |  |  | sarcastically *property* | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP.location V PP.theme»: agent=Location |
| 2 | **drop** | past | I | the ball |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ball=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"What a lovely surprise," Mum said sarcastically, looking at the muddy floor.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:x4:1
# text = "What a lovely surprise," Mum said sarcastically, looking at the muddy floor.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	nsubj	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	lovely	lovely	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	surprise	surprise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	_
8	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	looking	look	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	advcl	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	muddy	muddy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **surprise** *in a quote* |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  | sarcastically *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **look** | gerund | Mum *not said here* |  |  |  |  | at the muddy floor | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at floor=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't speak sarcastically to your teacher.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:x5:1
# text = Don't speak sarcastically to your teacher.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	speak	speak	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **speak** *speech: other* | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | to your teacher; sarcastically *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent to teacher=Co-Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She rolled her eyes and answered sarcastically.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:x6:1
# text = She rolled her eyes and answered sarcastically.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	rolled	roll	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	answered	answer	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **roll** | past | She | her eyes |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent eye=Agent |
| 2 | **answer** *speech: assert* | past | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  | sarcastically *property* | vn reciprocate-112-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Read the line sarcastically and the meaning changes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:x7:1
# text = Read the line sarcastically and the meaning changes.
1	Read	read	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	line	line	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	changes	change	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | imperative | you *not said here* | the line |  |  |  | sarcastically *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent line=Topic |
| 2 | **change** | present | the meaning |  |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"I suppose it's full of molasses now," remarked one of the young men, sarcastically.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sarcastically:x8:1
# text = "I suppose it's full of molasses now," remarked one of the young men, sarcastically.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	suppose	suppose	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	ccomp	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	molasses	molass	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
9	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	_
12	remarked	remark	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
13	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	12	obj	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	men	man	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	sarcastically	sarcastically	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **suppose** *in a quote* | present | I |  |  |  | now |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | it |  |  |  |  | of molasses; full *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **remark** *speech: assert* | participle | I *not said here* | one of the young men |  |  |  | sarcastically *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent one=Topic |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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