caricature
Americannoun
-
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
-
the art or process of producing such pictures, descriptions, etc.
-
any imitation or copy so distorted or inferior as to be ludicrous.
- Synonyms:
- travesty
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a pictorial, written, or acted representation of a person, which exaggerates his characteristic traits for comic effect
-
a ludicrously inadequate or inaccurate imitation
he is a caricature of a statesman
verb
Synonym Usage
See burlesque.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
caricaturistnoun
-
self-caricaturenoun
-
caricaturableadjective
-
caricaturaladjective
-
semicaricaturaladjective
-
uncaricaturedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
caricaturesimple
-
caricaturessimple
-
have caricaturedperfect
-
has caricaturedperfect
-
am caricaturingprogressive
-
are caricaturingprogressive
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is caricaturingprogressive
-
have been caricaturingperfect progressive
-
has been caricaturingperfect progressive
Past
-
caricaturedsimple
-
had caricaturedperfect
-
was caricaturingprogressive
-
were caricaturingprogressive
-
had been caricaturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of caricature
1740–50; earlier caricatura < Italian, equivalent to caricat(o) loaded, i.e., distorted (past participle of caricare; see charge) + -ura -ure
Explanation
A caricature is a satirical, exaggerated portrayal of a person. You'd better not caricature your father by walking bent-over and speaking in his high voice. If he catches you, you'll be in trouble! An exaggeration of a person's character results in a caricature. While this might help you to remember its meaning, don't let the spelling confuse you. Character has an "h" but caricature does not. If you're so excited about something that you feel a little out of control, you might seem like a caricature of yourself to your friends. You can use this word as a verb too. Presidents and other prominent politicians are often caricatured in political cartoons.
Vocabulary lists containing caricature
Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 7–11
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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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.
See Examples For:
He said the pair had an "agreeable" conversation, adding he did not agree with Vance's "caricature" of Western civilisation and its perceived decline.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
And at times “Kenrex” verges on caricature in its depiction of rural life as a lawless Wild Midwest, garnished by such down-home delicacies as “a deep fried barbecue chili cheese dog with bacon crumbles.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Miranda is a riff on Vogue’s former editor in chief Anna Wintour, who used to be irritated by her caricature but eventually came around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
It’s the second time Hernández has played the comedian, whose caricature of Maniscalco in a red blazer and black turtleneck is at turns spot on, exaggerated and completely hilarious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
“Dare not?” shouted Sir Lancelot, and he went into the darkness staggering, laughing like a caricature, and calling for his horse.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Their testimonials on our website demonstrate that they are real, complex human beings, not caricatures.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026
Withering caricatures began to seem inadequate—too easy, too ungenerous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Characters are caricatures, be it a villain that feels plucked from a cartoon western, complete with a purring raccoon for a sidekick, to a greedy wannabe politician of a bank manager.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Brahim Chnina, the Moroccan father of a schoolgirl who falsely claimed that Paty had asked Muslim students to leave his classroom before showing the caricatures, was sentenced to 13 years.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
The lamps the riders carry illuminate the silhouettes of the dead, magicking them into lumbering caricatures of humanity.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
"Magyar will want, as he did during the campaign, not to be caricatured as being a pawn of Brussels; do not expect him to say yes to everything," said an EU diplomat.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
Hegseth’s bravado has also been caricatured on “Saturday Night Live,” which opened two weeks in a row with a satirical portrayal of him as angry, dimwitted and hyped up on the violence of war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
During Newby’s tenure as chief justice, a cartoon has hung in the Supreme Court depicting him as Superman, surrounded by a coterie of conservative appellate justices caricatured as other members of DC Comics’ Justice League.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025
Shock horror in a political campaign, you'll be amazed that the two women have both been caricatured.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2025
The way American newspapers caricatured his portly build and bald head, portraying him like some stubby supervillain sprung from the pages of one of their ludicrous comic books.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
In a different sequence, our ensemble characters take turns reading an online screed caricaturing billionaires as yacht-bound playboys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2023
By 2017, Saturday Night Live was caricaturing Ms Trump in a mock advertisement for a perfume called "Complicit."
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2023
They’re dressed in drag — even mustaches — caricaturing their male detractors.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2022
“But I promise you that dismissing or caricaturing these kinds of voters — our fellow citizens — is not the way to win them back. And there’s no path to victory without winning them back.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2021
It was for the Brain Club that she wrote "The Socio-Maniac," a cantata caricaturing fashionable society.
From Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910 by Elliott, Maud Howe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
