burlesque

[ ber-lesk ]

/ bərˈlɛsk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR burlesque ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an artistic composition, especially literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity.

any ludicrous parody or grotesque caricature.

Also bur·lesk. a humorous and provocative stage show featuring slapstick humor, comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus.

adjective

involving ludicrous or mocking treatment of a solemn subject.

of, relating to, or like stage-show burlesque.

verb (used with object), bur·lesqued, bur·lesquing.

to make ridiculous by mocking representation.

verb (used without object), bur·lesqued, bur·lesquing.

to use caricature.

Nearby words

burlecue, burled, burleigh, burleigh, henry thacker, burleson, burlesque, burlesquely, burletta, burley, burleycue, burlingame

Origin of burlesque

1650–60; < French < Italian burlesco, equivalent to burl(a) jest (perhaps < Spanish; cf. burladero) + -esco -esque

SYNONYMS FOR burlesque

1 satire, lampoon, farce.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR burlesque ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

bur·lesque·ly, adverbbur·lesqu·er, nounpre·bur·lesque, adjectiveun·bur·lesqued, adjective

Can be confused

burlesque caricature cartoon parody satire (see synonym study at the current entry)

Synonym study

1. Burlesque, caricature, parody, travesty refer to the literary or dramatic forms that imitate serious works or subjects to achieve a humorous or satiric purpose. The characteristic device of burlesque is mockery of both high and low through association with their opposites: a burlesque of high and low life. Caricature, usually associated with visual arts or with visual effects in literary works, implies exaggeration of characteristic details: The caricature emphasized his nose. Parody achieves its humor through application of the manner or technique, usually of a well-known writer, to unaccustomed subjects: a parody by Swift. Travesty implies a grotesque form of burlesque: characters so changed as to produce a travesty.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for burlesque

Burlesque artists are often in it for the costumes, spending what they earn on fabric, feathers, and crystals.
Best Career Arc Ever: From Burlesque To Bartending|Anne Berry|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“The nature of the burlesque scene in London is as diverse as burlesque itself,” said Howard Wilmot, creator of Boylexe/Burlexe.
Inside London's Underground Burlesque and Fetish Scene|Liza Foreman|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Boylexe is a spin-off of a show about women in burlesque called Burlexe, which likewise mixes striptease, monologue, and song.
Inside London's Underground Burlesque and Fetish Scene|Liza Foreman|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Here, another writer says the burlesque model has got it right.
Dita Von Teese, My Breasts Are All Yours|Amanda Clayman|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He soon employs his new houseguest as a dancer in his burlesque theater and eventually pimps her out to select clients.
Cannes Diary: James Gray’s ‘The Immigrant,’ Starring Marion Cotillard, Shines|Richard Porton|May 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The day after this burlesque scene I returned to Padua, where Bettina soon made me forget the little ballet-girl.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete|Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
But it was nothing to the burlesque which was shortly to be enacted on Orange River Station platform.
On the Heels of De Wet|The Intelligence Officer
Here was born, in 1630, the celebrated Charles Cotton, a burlesque poet of the seventeenth century.
Curiousities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol. 1|Thomas Dugdale
Aside from his saddle and burlesque sombrero, he 89 looked every inch a puncher, both in dress and in bearing.
Out of the Depths|Robert Ames Bennet
I shall be able to relate the burlesque incident of my arrest, and the singular interview with which you honour me at present.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 7 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for burlesque

burlesque

/ (bɜːˈlɛsk) /

noun

an artistic work, esp literary or dramatic, satirizing a subject by caricaturing it

a ludicrous imitation or caricature

a play of the 17th–19th centuries that parodied some contemporary dramatic fashion or event

Also: burlesk US and Canadian theatre a bawdy comedy show of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: the striptease eventually became one of its chief elementsSlang name: burleycue

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of a burlesque

verb -lesques, -lesquing or -lesqued

to represent or imitate (a person or thing) in a ludicrous way; caricature

Derived Forms

burlesquer, noun

Word Origin for burlesque

C17: from French, from Italian burlesco, from burla a jest, piece of nonsense

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012