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View synonyms for caricature

caricature

[ kar-i-kuh-cher, -choor ]

noun

  1. a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things:

    His caricature of the mayor in this morning's paper is the best he's ever drawn.

    Synonyms: cartoon

  2. the art or process of producing such pictures, descriptions, etc.
  3. any imitation or copy so distorted or inferior as to be ludicrous.

    Synonyms: travesty



verb (used with object)

, car·i·ca·tured, car·i·ca·tur·ing.
  1. to make a caricature of; represent in caricature.

caricature

/ ˈkærɪkəˌtjʊə /

noun

  1. a pictorial, written, or acted representation of a person, which exaggerates his characteristic traits for comic effect
  2. a ludicrously inadequate or inaccurate imitation

    he is a caricature of a statesman

“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


verb

  1. tr to represent in caricature or produce a caricature of
“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

caricature

  1. In art or literature, portrayal of an individual or thing that exaggerates and distorts prominent characteristics so as to make them appear ridiculous. Caricature is commonly a medium for satire .


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Derived Forms

  • ˈcaricaˌtural, adjective
  • ˈcaricaˌturist, noun
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Other Words From

  • cari·ca·tur·a·ble adjective
  • cari·ca·tural adjective
  • cari·ca·tur·ist noun
  • self-cari·ca·ture noun
  • semi·cari·ca·tural adjective
  • un·cari·ca·tured adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of caricature1

1740–50; earlier caricatura < Italian, equivalent to caricat(o) loaded, i.e., distorted (past participle of caricare; charge ) + -ura -ure
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Word History and Origins

Origin of caricature1

C18: from Italian caricatura a distortion, exaggeration, from caricare to load, exaggerate; see cargo
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

This is not intended to be an art book by any means, yet only one image shows his caricatures.

You’re literally a caricature of an old man losing his hearing.

Hulu extended the story line of Margaret Atwood’s antifeminist dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale by remaking its enslaved heroine as a quippy caricature.

From Time

It’s a series that created the “Friendship” and “Babality” finishing moves, cheeky features that ensure the games never take themselves too seriously, and a reminder that these fighters are all cartoon caricatures.

Good conflict can be stressful and heated, but it doesn’t collapse into caricature.

From Time

Finally, America will have to accept Bill Cosby as a many-sided man, rather than a much-loved pop-culture caricature.

She died before they started shooting season two, and an unflattering caricature was included immediately.

Yet Dr. Phil allowed Kelli Stapleton to turn her daughter into an ugly caricature on his show.

I enjoyed her as purely a villain, even if she was somewhat of caricature.

The Alliance for a Strong America site is like a caricature of what liberals said about Keep America Safe.

Nor did Ethel know that that caricature had been the cause of the black eye that Harry had brought home last summer.

His look of consternation was exaggerated into a most comical caricature, in order to hide how much of it was real.

A caricature grotesque and impish, and yet one that no human being could mistake—a caricature by the hand of a master!

The uncle was always horrible; he was one of the very ugliest of Spaniards; he was a brutal caricature of the national type.

I have made it a caricature of a superhuman ass I know—Tomlinson—who thinks he can decorate.

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Caribou Inuitcaricature plant