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
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
The cold open featured a too-convincing Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth, parodying his anti-DEI speech-slash-Ted-Talk to soldiers, with James Austin Johnson’s Trump coming on soon after to recap his summer.
—Rima Parikh, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2025
Though the movie is accessible to new fans, there are plenty of winks and nods for diehards who can understand what might seem, to the uninitiated, like cheesy moments—a cringeworthy English rap verse, a scene parodying the product placement in K-dramas—as self-aware jokes.
—Yvonne Kim, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
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
The cold open featured a too-convincing Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth, parodying his anti-DEI speech-slash-Ted-Talk to soldiers, with James Austin Johnson’s Trump coming on soon after to recap his summer.
—Rima Parikh, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2025
Though the movie is accessible to new fans, there are plenty of winks and nods for diehards who can understand what might seem, to the uninitiated, like cheesy moments—a cringeworthy English rap verse, a scene parodying the product placement in K-dramas—as self-aware jokes.
—Yvonne Kim, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parodying
Verb
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During Glaser's interview with Stern, the shock jock praised her for mocking CBS News despite the Golden Globes airing on CBS.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
14 Jan. 2026
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Ricky Gervais has hosted the Golden Globes five times, making Hollywood sweat with his take-no-prisoners approach to jokes mocking showbiz.—
William Earl,
Variety,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Two hours later, the trainer — now in a foam Michelin-man neck-to-heel suit — crouches near the box, imitating a quiet intruder.—
Megan Sauer
Tasia Jensen,
CNBC,
14 Jan. 2026
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Users appeared to be imitating and showing off to one another.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Upon doing some research for more formal choices to match the nickname, the mom came across Margaret, which had a connection to her husband's grandmother.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
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No New Yorker should have to fear losing access to health care -- and no nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits or less dignity for doing lifesaving work.—
Noelle Lilley,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The state is currently suing a host of pornography websites, which are subject to a similar age-verification law for adult-content providers, since location-spoofing software allowed Hoosiers to circumvent the websites' Indiana-wide blackout.—
Cate Charron,
IndyStar,
15 Jan. 2026
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This helps prevent criminals from hijacking phone numbers or spoofing calls and texts.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Humanlike robot interaction In human-robot interaction, most robots currently respond reactively, mimicking expressions only after humans act, which feels artificial.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Jan. 2026
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These medications work by mimicking a hormone that targets areas of the brain that regulate appetite and food intake.—
Lauren Manaker,
SELF,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parodying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parodying. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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