parody
Americannoun
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a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing.
his hilarious parody of Hamlet's soliloquy.
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the genre of literary composition represented by such imitations.
-
a burlesque imitation of a musical composition.
-
any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation, as of a person, event, etc.
-
the use in the 16th century of borrowed material in a musical setting of the Mass parody Mass.
-
a poor or feeble imitation or semblance; travesty.
His acting is a parody of his past greatness.
verb (used with object)
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to imitate (a composition, author, etc.) for purposes of ridicule or satire.
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to imitate poorly or feebly; travesty.
noun
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a musical, literary, or other composition that mimics the style of another composer, author, etc, in a humorous or satirical way
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mimicry of someone's individual manner in a humorous or satirical way
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something so badly done as to seem an intentional mockery; travesty
verb
Synonym Usage
See burlesque.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
parodysimple
-
parodiessimple
-
have parodiedperfect
-
has parodiedperfect
-
am parodyingprogressive
-
are parodyingprogressive
-
is parodyingprogressive
-
have been parodyingperfect progressive
-
has been parodyingperfect progressive
Past
-
parodiedsimple
-
had parodiedperfect
-
was parodyingprogressive
-
were parodyingprogressive
-
had been parodyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parody
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin parōdia, from Greek parōidía “burlesque song or poem”; equivalent to par- + ode + -y 3
Explanation
A parody is a humorous or mocking imitation of something, using the same form as the original. To parody a poem, you have to write another poem. A parody is a form of humor that spoofs — or satirizes — something using the same form. For example, shows like "Saturday Night Live" and "The Daily Show" parody newscasts by doing fake newscasts that look like the real thing. Comedians and comedy writers love to parody the President. Anything in the public eye could be the object of a parody.
Vocabulary lists containing parody
Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory
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Poetry: Literary Devices
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Rhetoric
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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:
A behind-the scenes perspective on the Onion’s gloriously unhinged parody: If you could use a laugh, the absurd comedy on offer at the new Infowars might do the trick.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
"Elle seems more like a parody than a true prequel," she wrote, adding that the series "has heart and humour, but that's not enough".
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Larry David’s celebrity-heavy sketch series on HBO aims to parody U.S. history, mostly relying on its creator’s familiar comic style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
“Maddie’s Secret” is the rare comedic parody that can shift into total, gut-wrenching sincerity with the snap of a finger.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Poole must screen each and every thing that appears on the site, because there’s no parody, no sarcasm.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
“The Happy Dictator,” released as the lead single in September, parodies megalomaniac Saparmurat Niyazov’s approach to governing in Turkmenistan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
Its big-game commercial parodies the prospect of intrusive advertising in AI conversations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
While others understood that the song and performance were quintessential Robyn, others lazily lumped it in with phoned-in dance songs from Idina Menzel and “SNL” parodies.
From Salon ● Jan. 10, 2026
In Las Vegas, guests enter a trippy grocery store complete with parodies of household items before finding their way to the main exhibition space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2026
Some even wrote parodies of my poem, reading them to me in the hopes of getting under my skin.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
Throughout the last four decades, Culture Clash has parodied nearly every prominent Latino figure in history, including Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo, Ritchie Valens, Rita Moreno, Edward James Olmos and others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
The sandwich has even been seemingly parodied in “The Simpsons.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
“Satuday Night Live” has since parodied Clavicular in a “Weekend Update” sketch, and the streamer also made his runway debut in February at New York Fashion Week.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2026
On TikTok, people have riffed on and parodied the playful lyrics endlessly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
It’s the most parodied painting in history, but every parody just draws more attention to the original.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Heidecker also created the web series “On Cinema” with comedian Gregg Turkington, parodying movie review shows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
The video then cut to a clip of Lizzo parodying the American Eagle ad, with the caption: "Lizzo's got good jeans."
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
So why all the famous faces parodying themselves?
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025
Meme creators who have taken notice of the Stake watermarks have begun parodying the campaign by adding excessive amounts of Stake logos to their own memes or pretending they’re instead sponsored by Dave & Buster’s.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2024
If smart people are parodying it, that’s a sure sign that some less smart people are believing it.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
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.
