Hudibrastic

[ hyoo-duh-bras-tik, or, often, yoo- ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling the style of Samuel Butler's Hudibras (published 1663–78), a mock-heroic poem written in tetrameter couplets.
2. of a playful burlesque style.

noun

1. a Hudibrastic couplet or stanza.

hudibrastic

/ ˌhjuːdɪˈbræstɪk /

adjective

1. mock-heroic in style

Other Words From

• Hudi·brasti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hudibrastic¹

1705–15; Hudibras + -tic

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hudibrastic¹

C18: after Hudibras, poem (1663–68) by Samuel Butler

Example Sentences

Ordinary narrative poems with no satiric intent were decked in Hudibrastic couplets for the sake of a superficial cleverness.

From Project Gutenberg

This quotation from the opening of Combe's Hudibrastic narrative will account for the originality of the hero's eccentric title.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a simple rendering in Hudibrastic verse of a familiar nursery story.

From Project Gutenberg

His Hudibrastic verses are poor scurrilous trash, as the reader may judge from the description of the Highlanders, already quoted.

From Project Gutenberg