mock-heroic

[ mok-hi-roh-ik ]

adjective

1. imitating or burlesquing that which is heroic, as in manner, character, or action:

   mock-heroic dignity.

2. of or relating to a form of satire in which trivial subjects, characters, and events are treated in the ceremonious manner and with the elevated language and elaborate devices characteristic of the heroic style.

noun

1. an imitation or burlesque of something heroic.

mock-heroic

adjective

1. (of a literary work, esp a poem) imitating the style of heroic poetry in order to satirize an unheroic subject, as in Pope's The Rape of the Lock

noun

1. burlesque imitation of the heroic style or of a single work in this style

Other Words From

• mock-he·roi·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of mock-heroic¹

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

Even Joe smiled once or twice when Boone, in a mock heroic manner alluded to his exploits among the wolves.

From Project Gutenberg

To amuse himself, when professor of rhetoric, he wrote his mock-heroic of the battle of the frogs and mice, "Batrachomyomachia."

From Project Gutenberg

Except in burlesque or mock-heroic styles, dignified subjects should not be likened to what is trifling or low.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he went on to speak in a mock-heroic style of the rights of women.

From Project Gutenberg

The two latter personages have been already damaged by the mock heroic description of them in the introduction.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• burlesque
• caricature
• cartoon
• farce
• irony
• joke
• satire
• skit
• travesty