lampoon

[lam-poon]

noun

1. a sharp, often virulent satire directed against an individual or institution; a work of literature, art, or the like, ridiculing severely the character or behavior of a person, society, etc.

verb (used with object)

1. to mock or ridicule in a lampoon.

   to lampoon important leaders in the government.

lampoon

/ læmˈpuːn /

noun

1. a satire in prose or verse ridiculing a person, literary work, etc

verb

1. (tr) to attack or satirize in a lampoon

Other Word Forms

• lampooner noun
• lampoonery noun
• lampoonist noun
• unlampooned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lampoon¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from French lampon, said to be noun use of lampons “let us guzzle” (from a drinking song), imperative of lamper, akin to laper “to lap up,” from Germanic; lap ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of lampoon¹

C17: from French lampon, perhaps from lampons let us drink (frequently used as a refrain in poems)

Synonym Study

See satire.

Example Sentences

The premiere will be closely watched in a changed TV landscape where the stakes in satirizing the president seem higher than ever, even for an institution that’s been lampooning leaders for half a century.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Spitting Image TV show, which lampooned celebrities, politicians and royals, was a huge hit for ITV when it first ran in the 1980s and 1990s.

Read more on BBC

The weekly Russian satire known as “Kukly” — or “Puppets,” in English — lampooned Russian leaders by rendering them as giant latex caricatures.

Read more on Salon

In the new sports thriller “HIM,” director and co-writer Justin Tipping cleverly lampoons the intense fanfare of organized sports, examining how much the pursuit of an intangible title like “GOAT” can cost an ambitious player.

Read more on Salon

Benjamin Franklin’s 1773 “Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One” used irony to lampoon British policy, undermining authority while avoiding direct flouting of the era’s harsh sedition laws.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• caricature 
• mock 
• parody 
• satirize