mockery

noun

mock·​ery ˈmä-k(ə-)rē 

ˈmȯ-

plural mockeries

1

: insulting or contemptuous action or speech : derision

… laying himself open to the jeers and mockeries of his rebellious subjects …

—E. A. Freeman

2

: a subject of laughter, derision, or sport

… making him turn himself into a merry mockery of all he had once held dear.

—Oliver St. John Gogarty

3

a

: a counterfeit appearance : imitation

… if it was not a man it was a huge and grotesque mockery of man.

—Edgar Rice Burroughs

b

: an insincere, contemptible, or impertinent (see impertinent sense 1a) imitation

makes a mockery of justice

4

: something ridiculously or impudently (see impudent sense 1) unsuitable

… in her bitterness she felt that all rejoicing was mockery.

—George Eliot

Synonyms of mockery

• parody
• joke
• caricature
• sham

Examples of mockery in a Sentence

His kind of personality invites mockery.

the children's cruel mockery of each other

Recent Examples on the Web

The glasses, which were unveiled during a presentation on Tuesday, come with a hefty price tag of $2,195 and happen to be unfathomably colossal as well, a questionable design choice that invited plenty of mockery online. —Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 17 June 2026

Since then, in Naples, McTominay has made a mockery of his sale price. —Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 16 June 2026

Making a mockery of the most dangerous act affecting the integrity of competitions is a great way to tick off everyone from Hocutt’s fellow Big 12 ADs to their counterparts in other conferences to Power 4 commissioners to the president of the NCAA. —Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 11 June 2026

The 90-degree sun was making a mockery of my sunblock, as evidenced by the bright red hue of my hand (and face and neck and legs). —Sean Gregory, Time, 11 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mockery

• self-mockery

Rhymes for mockery

• crockery
• rockery

Kids Definition

mockery

noun

mock·​ery ˈmäk-(ə-)rē 

ˈmȯk-

plural mockeries

1

: insulting action or speech

2

: someone or something that is laughed at

3

: a ridiculous or poor imitation