1
as in parodies
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something
that TV network's reporting is a mere caricature of real journalism
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spoofs
a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect
the artist creates caricatures of famous paintings by replacing humans with cats
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3
as in exaggerations
the representation of something in terms that go beyond the facts
the mayor has presented only a caricature of his opponent's views
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in mocks
to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of
caricatured the supervisor's distinctive walk
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of caricatures
Brent Lang, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
Side-characters like Murray should have been written out before becoming caricatures.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Some of the Catholic and Jewish characters are caricatures, too, but this anonymous ideologue is a bit too understated for someone wanting to conscript another into deadly service and could benefit from the absurdist flair Cash deploys elsewhere.
—Niela Orr, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
Red velvet, dark wood accents, and walls lined with caricatures of Washington’s political elite—past and present—set the stage for a memorable experience, one that feels equal parts old-school power lounge and playful take on the city’s history.
—Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 11 Jan. 2026
Chamberlain also included a drawing of the girls in the group done on a paper tablecloth which included caricatures of Carpenter, Sandoval, Chamberlain and Sarah, as well as Carpenter's friend Amber Mark.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
In other words, the caricatures themselves created the conflict.
—Justin Angle, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2026
Most importantly, each of the transmasculine characters featured in Crawl feel like real people, which is a grand departure from the hollow caricatures we’re usually fed, whose personalities start and end with being trans.
—Ana Osorno, Them., 21 Nov. 2025
Neither Brolin’s narcissistic power broker nor Domingo’s scenery-chewing master of ceremonies necessarily feel like caricatures.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
Noun
In lesser hands, the roles could be caricatures.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
Side-characters like Murray should have been written out before becoming caricatures.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Some of the Catholic and Jewish characters are caricatures, too, but this anonymous ideologue is a bit too understated for someone wanting to conscript another into deadly service and could benefit from the absurdist flair Cash deploys elsewhere.
—Niela Orr, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
Red velvet, dark wood accents, and walls lined with caricatures of Washington’s political elite—past and present—set the stage for a memorable experience, one that feels equal parts old-school power lounge and playful take on the city’s history.
—Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 11 Jan. 2026
Chamberlain also included a drawing of the girls in the group done on a paper tablecloth which included caricatures of Carpenter, Sandoval, Chamberlain and Sarah, as well as Carpenter's friend Amber Mark.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
In other words, the caricatures themselves created the conflict.
—Justin Angle, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2026
Most importantly, each of the transmasculine characters featured in Crawl feel like real people, which is a grand departure from the hollow caricatures we’re usually fed, whose personalities start and end with being trans.
—Ana Osorno, Them., 21 Nov. 2025
Neither Brolin’s narcissistic power broker nor Domingo’s scenery-chewing master of ceremonies necessarily feel like caricatures.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for caricatures
Noun
-
O'Brien then recalled his time on The Harvard Lampoon, his alma mater's humor publication also known for its parodies of magazines.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Each of the first three episodes takes place in a different decade and parodies a different generational style of sitcom.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Way better than dusty game show and dinner party spoofs.—
Andy Hoglund,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Jan. 2026
-
What’s Upstairs at the Downstairs is always a patchwork of mild satire, blatant spoofs, witty music, local jokes.—
Laird Borrelli-Persson,
Vogue,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Schultz declined to respond to the litany of accusations, calling them exaggerations and mischaracterizations.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
24 Jan. 2026
-
While some of his bold claims have come true, others have gone down as vast exaggerations or outright lies.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Chelsea Handler honors Rob Reiner, mocks DiCaprio's 'Titanic' vacationNeed a news break?—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
5 Jan. 2026
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There, Callahan mocks him, saying that killing him won't assuage Mike of his guilt.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Williams plays his colleague Gaby, best friend to his dead wife and a ball of passion and dirty jokes.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
26 Jan. 2026
-
That’s a compliment, of course, as these are very, very funny jokes.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Colors take center stage, embedding references to the paintings and glasswork in European churches, the hues of the natural landscape in China’s Dunhuang county, as well as to the iconography and embroideries from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties in ancient China.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
13 Jan. 2026
-
In Italy, Antonio Marras combined rugged denim with delicate lace and embroideries.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And, because life sometimes imitates art, Williams and Storrie are heading to the Olympics.—
Anna Zucca,
Vanity Fair,
23 Jan. 2026
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The layered neckline, with the bust peeking out from behind, imitates this season's hottest red carpet trend, the semi-visible bra.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Saturday morning cartoons were fortified with frozen orange juice concentrate that came in a tube and required thawing the night before.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Players choose a card, which offers a category like pizza toppings or cartoons, and take turns shouting out a word that fits the category and corresponds to a letter on the board that hasn’t already been used.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Caricatures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caricatures. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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