satire
[ sat-ahyuh r ]
/ ˈsæt aɪər /
noun
the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
a literary genre comprising such compositions.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
caricature, mockery, sarcasm, irony, skit, wit, spoof, banter, parody, burlesque, lampoon, travesty, takeoff, witticism, put-on, raillery, persiflage, pasquinade, squib, causticity
Nearby words
satinet, satinflower, satinpod, satinwood, satiny, satire, satirical, satirist, satirize, satisfaction, satisfactory
Origin of satire
1500–10; < Latin satira, variant of satura medley, perhaps feminine derivative of satur sated (see saturate)
SYNONYMS FOR satire
1 See irony1.
2, 3 burlesque, caricature, parody, travesty. Satire, lampoon refer to literary forms in which vices or follies are ridiculed. Satire, the general term, often emphasizes the weakness more than the weak person, and usually implies moral judgment and corrective purpose: Swift's satire of human pettiness and bestiality. Lampoon refers to a form of satire, often political or personal, characterized by the malice or virulence of its attack: lampoons of the leading political figures.
Related forms
non·sat·ire, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for satire
British Dictionary definitions for satire
satire
/ (ˈsætaɪə) /
noun
a novel, play, entertainment, etc, in which topical issues, folly, or evil are held up to scorn by means of ridicule and irony
the genre constituted by such works
the use of ridicule, irony, etc, to create such an effect
Word Origin for satire
C16: from Latin satira a mixture, from satur sated, from satis enough
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
Culture definitions for satire
satire
A work of literature that mocks social conventions, another work of art, or anything its author thinks ridiculous. Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, is a satire of eighteenth-century British society.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.