adjective
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of, relating to, or containing satire
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given to the use of satire
Synonym Usage
See cynical.
Other Word Forms
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nonsatiricalnessnoun
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satiricalnessnoun
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subsatiricalnessnoun
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unsatiricalnessnoun
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nonsatiricadjective
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nonsatiricaladjective
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pseudosatiricaladjective
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quasi-satiricaladjective
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semisatiricadjective
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semisatiricaladjective
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subsatiricadjective
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subsatiricaladjective
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unsatiricadjective
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unsatiricaladjective
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nonsatiricallyadverb
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pseudosatiricallyadverb
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quasi-satiricallyadverb
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satiricallyadverb
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semisatiricallyadverb
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subsatiricallyadverb
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unsatiricallyadverb
Etymology
Origin of satirical
First recorded in 1520–30; from Late Latin satiric(us) (from satir(a) satire + -icus -ic ) + -al 1
Explanation
If you know the movie you are about to see is satirical, you expect it to make fun some aspect of human nature or even our society, like a satirical take on the glamorous world of fashion that portrays all the designers as celebrity-obsessed and unconcerned with true artistry. Satirical is an adjective that describes satire, a work that is intended to ridicule the shortcomings and antics of a person or group. So, something that is satirical often looks like the real thing in order to make fun of it. For example, a sketch on a comedy show in which a comedian sits behind a news anchor desk and uses a serious tone to "report" on absurd events that really happened takes a satirical approach to both the events and the concept of broadcast journalism.
Vocabulary lists containing satirical
100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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This Week in Pop Culture: August 10–16, 2019
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 6
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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.
Ticket sales for the satirical black comedy, which stars Cruise as oil magnate Digger Rockwell, dropped by around 60% in the movie's second weekend.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
From the Instagram account of the Columbia Federalist, a satirical university newspaper, Sept. 30:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Metaphorically alluding to the satirical newspaper “The Onion,” the narrator says that to pull off this operation, the team had to stick together like layers of an onion: “Never forget, onion is strength.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Claiming the movie’s satirical predictions have “come true” has been regular fodder for clickbait articles, egged on by its creator and stars.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Hence the 2004 headline in the satirical newspaper The Onion on the passing of postmodernism’s leading light: Jacques Derrida “Dies.”
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
