as in mocking
to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of
parodying a public figure's distinctive mannerisms takes particular talent
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Recent Examples of parodying
In response, track athlete Alysia Montaño crafted a video in conjunction with the New York Times, parodying Nike’s sponsor’s ad.
—
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
These are the exact type of tried-and-true New Yorkers and New York hip-hop heads the Bodega Boys blew up by parodying with their frequently unhinged back-and-forth.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
After an extended bit featuring host Nikki Glaser parodying Nicole Kidman’s AMC ads, a very loose Snoop Dogg introduced, for some reason, the award for best podcast.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
The scene came in a fictional segment parodying Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in which Maggie defends her architectural talents after her daycare teacher punishes her for making beautiful structures from building blocks.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Dec. 2025
The brand announced the drop on Instagram with a campaign video parodying 1970s game shows.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025
Oteri previously appeared in the first Scary Movie in 2000 as Gail Halstorm, a sensationalist television reporter parodying Courteney Cox’s Scream character Gale Weathers.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Nov. 2025
Meta/Facebook has rolled out engaging bots, parodying famous personas such as Jane Austen; Snapchat has offered a chatbot to individual users.
—John Wihbey, Big Think, 7 Oct. 2025
By parodying the spectacle that once defined him, James cleverly reclaims the narrative, turning an infamous moment into a savvy branding opportunity.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
These are the exact type of tried-and-true New Yorkers and New York hip-hop heads the Bodega Boys blew up by parodying with their frequently unhinged back-and-forth.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
After an extended bit featuring host Nikki Glaser parodying Nicole Kidman’s AMC ads, a very loose Snoop Dogg introduced, for some reason, the award for best podcast.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
The scene came in a fictional segment parodying Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in which Maggie defends her architectural talents after her daycare teacher punishes her for making beautiful structures from building blocks.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Dec. 2025
The brand announced the drop on Instagram with a campaign video parodying 1970s game shows.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025
Oteri previously appeared in the first Scary Movie in 2000 as Gail Halstorm, a sensationalist television reporter parodying Courteney Cox’s Scream character Gale Weathers.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Nov. 2025
Meta/Facebook has rolled out engaging bots, parodying famous personas such as Jane Austen; Snapchat has offered a chatbot to individual users.
—John Wihbey, Big Think, 7 Oct. 2025
By parodying the spectacle that once defined him, James cleverly reclaims the narrative, turning an infamous moment into a savvy branding opportunity.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parodying
Verb
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Claude, Anthropic’s chatbot, released multiple ads earlier this month mocking OpenAI for its decision to display ads on ChatGPT.—
Max Rego,
The Hill,
12 Feb. 2026
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The only notable Paxton campaign TV spot has been centered around an AI video mocking Cornyn.—
Joseph Morton,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, previously said in a statement that accounts imitating other people go against their terms of service and are removed when flagged.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
26 Jan. 2026
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Broncos fans have rallied around their backup quarterback, with thousands of fans changing their social media avatars to a picture of Stidham’s face, photoshopped with sunglasses and headphones, imitating a LeBron James meme.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In saliva samples from 628 adults, researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi found that people living with obesity host a distinct oral microbiome, one that differs not just in species, but in what those microbes are actively doing.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
14 Feb. 2026
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Gage’s Robert is also no slouch in the come-on department, gushing over Jack’s appearance and enticing him by wearing women’s lingerie and doing you don’t want to know what else.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Investigators determined the text had come through a voice over IP service capable of spoofing phone numbers.—
Michael Ruiz , Matt Finn,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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Scammers are spoofing numbers to call customers and setting up fake websites that appear in Google searches.—
Joshua Sidorowicz,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The organoids showed cell death, inflammation and glial scarring, closely mimicking what happens in the human body after severe injury.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
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Some of his other previous installations across the globe have stretched hundreds of feet long, mimicking natural shapes and colors inspired by butterfly wings, ocean waves, rainbows, tree canopies and abstract shapes.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parodying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parodying. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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