parody Hear it!

parody definition

paro·dy (par′ə dē)

noun pl. parodies -·dies

    1. a literary or musical work imitating the characteristic style of some other work or of a writer or composer in a satirical or humorous way, usually by applying it to an inappropriate subject
    2. the art of writing such works
  2. a poor or weak imitation

Etymology: Fr parodie < L parodia < Gr parōidia, burlesque song < para-, beside (see para-) + ōidē, song (see ode)

transitive verb parodied -·died, parodying -·dy·ing

to make a parody of

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

parody Synonyms

parody

n.

travesty, caricature, burlesque, satire, lampoon, spoof, farce, imitation, mimicry, takeoff, pastiche, copy, cartoon, exaggeration, distortion, misrepresentation, feeble imitation, roast, mock-heroic, pasquinade, extravaganza, mockery, derision, mime, irony, jest, raillery; see also imitation 1, 2, joke 1, ridicule.

Antonyms truth*, accuracy*, exactness.

a parody ridicules a written work or writer by imitating the style closely, esp. so as to point up peculiarities or affectations, and usually also by distorting the content nonsensically or changing it to something absurdly incongruous; travesty, in contrast, implies that the subject matter is retained, but that the style and language are changed so as to give a grotesquely absurd effect; satire refers to a literary work in which follies, vices, stupidities, and abuses in life are held up to ridicule or contempt, esp. through the use of irony, sarcasm, and wit; lampoon refers to a piece of strongly satirical writing that uses broad humor in attacking and ridiculing the faults and weaknesses of an individual or institution; caricature refers to a representation of a person or thing, in writing, performance, or esp. drawing, that ludicrously exaggerates its distinguishing features; burlesque, in this comparison, refers to a broadly comic or satirical imitation, and implies the handling of a serious subject lightly or flippantly, or of a trifling subject with mock seriousness


parody

v.

mimic, satirize, copy, burlesque, travesty, exaggerate, deride, mime, caricature, jest, distort, mock, laugh at, jeer, lampoon, roast, disparage; see also imitate 2, impersonate, joke, ridicule.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

parody Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • become: Britain has become a parody of her former self.

Adjective modifier

  • grotesque: In recent years the finances of football have been a grotesque parody of the Italian financial system.

Modifies a noun

  • song: We really enjoyed also the act who did the hilarious parody songs!

Noun used with modifier

  • self: He was always prolific but at times his painting lacked passion and became repetitive or obscure almost to the point of self parody.

Preposition: of

  • genre: The flailing band seemed to be trying to ' do a darkness ' , their music a parody of several genres at once.
parody usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

parody quotes

He was something between an epitome and a parody.

-Isaacson,Walter Seff

Satire is a lesson, parody is a game.

-Nabokov,Vladimir

Sencillamente se me ocurre que la parodia se ha desplazado y hoy invade los gestos, las acciones. Donde antes hab|¤a acontecimientos, experiencias, pasiones, hoy quedan so¤  lo parodias. Eso trataba a veces de decirle a Marcelo en mis cartas: que la parodia ha sustitutido por completo a la historia. It's simply that I believe that parody has been displaced and that it now invades all gestures and actions.Where there used to be events, experiences, passions, now there are nothing but parodies. This is what I tried to tell Marcelo so many times in my letters: that parody had completely replaced history.

-Piglia, Ricardo

parody quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"parody." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/parody>

APA Style

parody. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/parody

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment