burlesque

[ber-lesk]

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.

Origin of burlesque

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

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

Can be confusedburlesque caricature cartoon parody satire (see synonym study at the current entry)

Synonyms for burlesque

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR burlesque ON THESAURUS.COM

1. satire, lampoon, farce.

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

Related Words for burlesque

spoof, travesty, farce, mocking, comic, mock, caricature, mockery, vaudeville, strip, satire, lampoon, takeoff, pastiche, parody, revue, ludicrous, satirical, ironical, caricatural

Examples from the Web for burlesque

Contemporary Examples of 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
“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
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
Here, another writer says the burlesque model has got it right.
Dita Von Teese, My Breasts Are All Yours
Amanda Clayman
August 8, 2014
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

Historical Examples of burlesque

Burlesque of character and calling puts in an occasional appearance.
The Dramatic Values in Plautus
Wilton Wallace Blancke
Burlesque, farce and extravagance of situation and dialogue.
The Dramatic Values in Plautus
Wilton Wallace Blancke
It might be called a burlesque, but for the fact that it is unaccompanied by the luxury of legs.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 17, July 23, 1870
Various
Deem not this collocation simply a burlesque on Scientific categories.
Life: Its True Genesis
R. W. Wright
Nailed several anti-saloon and burlesque planks in his platform.
Who Was Who: 5000 B. C. to Date
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for burlesque

burlesque

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 Formsburlesquer, 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

Word Origin and History for burlesque

1660s, "derisive imitation, grotesque parody," from French burlesque (16c.), from Italian burlesco, from burla "joke, fun, mockery," possibly ultimately from Late Latin burra "trifle, nonsense," literally "flock of wool." Modern sense of "variety show featuring striptease" is American English, 1870. Originally (1857) "the sketches at the end of minstrel shows." As a verb, from 1670s.