travesty

¹trav·es·ty

transitive verb \ˈtra-və-stē\

trav·es·tiedtrav·es·ty·ing

Definition of TRAVESTY

: to make a travesty of : parody

Examples of TRAVESTY

1. <this comedy sketch mindlessly travesties the hard work of relief workers around the world>

First Known Use of TRAVESTY

1673

Related to TRAVESTY

Synonyms

burlesque, caricature, do, imitate, mock, parody, send up, spoof, mimic

Related Words

lampoon, pasquinade, satirize; deride, gibe (or jibe), ridicule; ape, copycat, monkey, parrot; duplicate, emulate, replicate, reproduce; act, counterfeit, dissemble, fake, feign, pretend, sham, simulate; elaborate, embellish, embroider, exaggerate, magnify, pad, play up, stretch; amplify, enhance, enlarge (on or upon), expand, flesh (out), overdraw, overstate, put on; mime, pantomime; impersonate, perform, personate, play

²travesty

noun

plural travesties

Definition of TRAVESTY

1

: a burlesque translation or literary or artistic imitation usually grotesquely incongruous in style, treatment, or subject matter

2

: a debased, distorted, or grossly inferior imitation <a travesty of justice>

Examples of TRAVESTY

1. It is a travesty and a tragedy that so many people would be denied the right to vote.
2. The trial was a travesty of justice.

Origin of TRAVESTY

obsolete English travesty disguised, parodied, from French travesti, past participle of travestir to disguise, from Italian travestire, from tra- across (from Latin trans-) + vestire to dress, from Latin — more at vest

First Known Use: 1674

Related to TRAVESTY

Synonyms

caricature, cartoon, farce, joke, parody, sham, mockery

Related Words

burlesque, comedy; lampoon, takeoff; counterfeit, fake, feigning, forgery, hoax, humbug, knockoff, phony (also phoney), pretense (or pretence), sham, simulation

Near Antonyms

homage, tribute

See Synonym Discussion at caricature

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody