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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of parodying
Regardless, everyone approves of Kiana, with Zack good-naturedly parodying her sunglasses and the girls encouraging him to lock it down despite the tumultuous relationships their friend group seems to attract.
—
Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 May 2026
Influencer comedians like Madison Humphrey and Mitsy Sanderson have built large platforms parodying awkward moments.
—Rachel Hale, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026
Heidecker — the mind behind projects including The Tim and Eric Show and On Cinema — has been parodying Jones for years.
—Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026
The cliffhanger of the previous season, which saw Lister impregnated by his female self from an alternate universe, is dismissed with a pre-episode text crawl parodying Star Wars, which irreverently moved way too fast to read.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Mar. 2026
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
Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 May 2026
Influencer comedians like Madison Humphrey and Mitsy Sanderson have built large platforms parodying awkward moments.
—Rachel Hale, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026
Heidecker — the mind behind projects including The Tim and Eric Show and On Cinema — has been parodying Jones for years.
—Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026
The cliffhanger of the previous season, which saw Lister impregnated by his female self from an alternate universe, is dismissed with a pre-episode text crawl parodying Star Wars, which irreverently moved way too fast to read.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parodying
Verb
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One side feels mocking people and calling names is OK and not creating hate.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 May 2026
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The entertainer gained notoriety on social media in the late 2010s for his sketches mocking niche everyday scenarios.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Life is officially imitating art for Dani Rojas from Ted Lasso.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
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The contest aims to challenge negative stereotypes of seagulls, which are often seen as a nuisance, by imitating them, per local network WTV.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Our desire to see each other can remain the same but the means of doing so have to be flexible.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
10 May 2026
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Just a wonderful man that teaches you lessons, teaches you camaraderie, unity, doing things as a unit, that no one’s different.—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
10 May 2026
Verb
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In one case study highlighted by PCMag, a sailboat cruising through the Red Sea with the Starlink Mini dish—a user device released in 2024—was able to exclusively rely on Starlink positioning data despite GPS jamming and spoofing.—
Andrew Cunningham,
ArsTechnica,
11 May 2026
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The Onion is taking another stab at getting control of Alex Jones' Infowars platforms and turning them into comedy sites spoofing the conspiracy theorist.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Additionally, those early on in their criminal career often try on their criminal identity by mimicking others’ crimes.—
Lorena O’Neil,
Rolling Stone,
11 May 2026
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The new framework addresses that issue by mimicking how the human brain predicts sensory feedback.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Parodying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parodying. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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