travesty
Americannoun
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a grotesque or debased likeness or imitation.
a travesty of justice.
- Synonyms:
- distortion, sham, perversion, mockery
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a literary or artistic burlesque of a serious work or subject, characterized by grotesque or ludicrous incongruity of style, treatment, or subject matter.
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a literary or artistic composition so inferior in quality as to be merely a grotesque imitation of its model.
verb (used with object)
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to make a travesty on; turn (a serious work or subject) to ridicule by burlesquing.
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to imitate grotesquely or absurdly.
noun
verb
Usage
What does travesty mean? A travesty is something that imitates something else but in a gross or ridiculous manner. A travesty is also a literary or other artistic work that is a grotesque example of the art form it models. To travesty means to imitate absurdly or to parody a serious artwork. Example: The movie was an absolute travesty of the events that actually took place.
Synonym Usage
See burlesque.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has travestiedperfect 3rd person singular
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have travestiedperfect
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has been travestyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are travestyingprogressive
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travestyingparticiple
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is travestyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am travestyingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been travestyingperfect progressive
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travestiessingular 3rd person
Past
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had travestiedperfect
-
had been travestyingperfect progressive
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travestiedparticiple
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travestiedsimple
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was travestyingprogressive singular
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were travestyingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of travesty
1655–65; < French travesti, past participle of travestir “to disguise” < Italian travestire, equivalent to tra- (< Latin trāns- trans- ) + vestire “to clothe” < Latin vestīre; see vest
Explanation
A travesty is a cheap mockery, usually of something or someone serious, such as a travesty of justice. In literature, a travesty is a work that humorously and crudely imitates another work or style. But you can also use this word to describe anything that seems to mock, distort, or poorly imitate something else. A travesty of justice, for example, is a court case that makes a mockery of the judicial system — or so you might think, if the verdict isn't in your favor. Travesty comes from the French travesti, meaning "dressed in disguise."
Vocabulary lists containing travesty
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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President Trump's Second State of the Union Address (2019)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It’s been a running joke within the Travesty, about the absurdity of Confederate statues being so prominent on campus,” Rotnofsky, 21, from Laredo, Texas, told The Washington Post in July.
From Washington Post • Aug. 13, 2015
Her widely distributed 1903 essay, "The Travesty of Christmas," was not, as you might expect from a socialist suffragette, an attack on early shopping—it was in support of it.
From Slate • Nov. 6, 2013
A Travesty "Old beers. I never usually leave soldiers behind."
From Golf Digest • Oct. 16, 2013
Franklin Zimring, a law professor at the University of California Berkeley and author An American Travesty: Legal Responses to Adolescent Sexual Offending, has come to a similar conclusion.
From BBC • May 12, 2013
He translated Virgil's AEneids into as horrible Travesty, in earnest, as the French Scaroon did in burlesque, and was only outdone in his way by the politic author of Oceana.
From Hudibras by Butler, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
