satirize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsatirizingadjective
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satirizernoun
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satirizationnoun
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unsatirizedadjective
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satirizableadjective
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unsatirizableadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has satirizedperfect 3rd person singular
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have satirizedperfect
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are satirizingprogressive
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have been satirizingperfect progressive
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am satirizingprogressive 1st person singular
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satirizessingular 3rd person
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has been satirizingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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satirizingparticiple
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is satirizingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had satirizedperfect
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were satirizingprogressive plural
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satirizedparticiple
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satirizedsimple
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had been satirizingperfect progressive
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was satirizingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of satirize
Explanation
When you cleverly make fun of something, you satirize it. Political cartoons, for example, satirize current events and politicians using clever drawings and captions. When a writer criticizes something using humor, she satirizes it. Playwrights and filmmakers often satirize ridiculous social customs by reflecting them in exaggerated ways, for example. Ideally, when an artist satirizes society, she hopes to encourage positive changes by making people feel ashamed or embarrassed. The root of satirize is the noun satire, which in classical Latin meant a kind of poem that "ridiculed vice or folly."
Vocabulary lists containing satirize
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.
But in her novel, rather than satirize or steamroll, Shriver takes her open-armed and open-borders characters as seriously and empathetically as her anti-immigration ones.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026
It was an anxiety-induced dream that first inspired Gutiérrez to write “Serious People” to satirize the entertainment industry.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025
The fourth deals with a witch, giving them a chance to satirize conspiracy theorists.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2024
These are times that have become impossible to satirize.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2024
And there is always the non-productive brotherhood of critics to disparage and to satirize, to view with horror and contempt.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
