noun
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a person who writes satire
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a person given to the use of satire
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of satirist
Explanation
A satirist is a writer or artist who uses biting humor and exaggerated language to make fun of someone. Political satirists often target candidates with cartoons that highlight their flaws. A skilled satirist can use something that seems silly or ridiculous at first glance to make a serious point. The work a satirist does, called satire, is all about using humor to show that public figures are weak or corrupt — and also to expose bigger societal issues. Today, a satirist might focus on a politician's refusal to acknowledge the reality of climate change, exposing both their dishonesty and the significance of the issue.
Vocabulary lists containing satirist
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.
And facts so clean that a satirist would reject them as too on the nose: one six-pack, one dry village, one retired pilot, one $95,000 plane.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
The rest of his career was largely devoted to complicating and enriching the portrait, transforming himself, as his best biographer, James Gindin, observed, from a satirist into a practitioner of the “novel of compassion.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Though she is not a satirist, her gimlet-eyed prose conveys a caustic humor that feels more British than American.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
American musician and satirist Tom Lehrer has died at the age of 97, according to US media reports.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
Now, he was a satirist, so he left it that way, and my father was, I guess I realized too late, a romantic, so he ended it another way.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
