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.

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM satire

non·sat·ire, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH satire

burlesque caricature cartoon parody satire (see synonym study at burlesque) (see synonym study at the current entry) satire satyr

Example sentences 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

Cultural 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.