as in parodies
a creative work that uses sharp humor to point up the foolishness of a person, institution, or human nature in general
a satire about the music industry in which a handsome but untalented youth is turned into a pop star
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Recent Examples of satires
Known for creating wicked political satires like Veep and The Thick of It, Iannucci is currently competing on Taskmaster.
—
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 26 May 2026
Filmmakers have used the Civil War as a setting for many decades now, inspiring stories of epic military battles, romantic melodramas, and even satires, from sweeping Best Picture winners like Gone With the Wind (1939) to revisionist Westerns like Django Unchained (2012).
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
The role demands charisma, vocal chops, and sharp comedic timing, all deployed within one of the most cynical satires in the musical theater canon.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
Christopher Guest really took up the mantle of putting real emotional elements in these satires — look at A Mighty Wind.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Dec. 2025
His 1984 metal band mockumentary This is Spinal Tap served as the blueprint for musical documentary satires, getting the sequel treatment earlier this year.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 Dec. 2025
An entire section of the Mad exhibit is devoted to movie and television show satires, the majority with art by master caricaturist Mort Drucker.
—Jeff Suess, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Nov. 2025
The name belonged to a London area with printing shops, booksellers and cheap lodgings where impoverished writers churned out pamphlets, satires, political tracts, sensational stories and hack journalism—whatever sold.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 8 Nov. 2025
The show spoofs recent Broadway blockbusters, including celebrity satires and pop culture zings, with hip-hop piano accompaniment.
—Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2025
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 26 May 2026
Filmmakers have used the Civil War as a setting for many decades now, inspiring stories of epic military battles, romantic melodramas, and even satires, from sweeping Best Picture winners like Gone With the Wind (1939) to revisionist Westerns like Django Unchained (2012).
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
The role demands charisma, vocal chops, and sharp comedic timing, all deployed within one of the most cynical satires in the musical theater canon.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
Christopher Guest really took up the mantle of putting real emotional elements in these satires — look at A Mighty Wind.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Dec. 2025
His 1984 metal band mockumentary This is Spinal Tap served as the blueprint for musical documentary satires, getting the sequel treatment earlier this year.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 Dec. 2025
An entire section of the Mad exhibit is devoted to movie and television show satires, the majority with art by master caricaturist Mort Drucker.
—Jeff Suess, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Nov. 2025
The name belonged to a London area with printing shops, booksellers and cheap lodgings where impoverished writers churned out pamphlets, satires, political tracts, sensational stories and hack journalism—whatever sold.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 8 Nov. 2025
The show spoofs recent Broadway blockbusters, including celebrity satires and pop culture zings, with hip-hop piano accompaniment.
—Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for satires
Noun
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Its various iterations have managed to hold viewers' attention in the years since (the 2009 sibling version inspired a slew of parodies and fan fiction).—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
20 May 2026
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His most viral videos include skits about dueling Drake and Kendrick Lamar tracks and parodies amplifying more serious lyrical messages in popular party music.—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
13 May 2026
Noun
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There would be more scripted and carefully choreographed moments in his TV spots for Calvin Klein jeans and Obsession, collaborations with the writer Doon Arbus (daughter of Diane and Allan Arbus) that took chances (and which, for some viewers, are inseparable from memorable spoofs on SNL).—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
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The success of more straightforward spoofs such as Schaffer’s The Naked Gun last year is also reassuring; that film was a classic joke-a-minute throwback that largely worked (for both viewers and critics), more in line with the sort of fare that the Lonely Island made early on.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The broadest of comedies, the film’s often puerile humor is driven by an endless stream of male bungling, blundering and whining, only to be kicked up a notch by pratfalls of nearly every variety, from getting bucked off a galloping horse to tripping into a pile of trash.—
Natalia Winkelman,
Variety,
27 May 2026
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Two comedies round out the five-strong announcement.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Satires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/satires. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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