as in parody
a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect
many viewers thought that the spoof of a television newscast was the real thing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to parody
to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of
spoofed overly competitive parents in a mockumentary about tryouts for a national T-ball team
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to trick
to cause to believe what is untrue
the newspaper was spoofed by a supposedly plausible claim of a UFO encounter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spoof
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 7 June 2026
Another spoof, this time of golden-age Broadway musicals.
—ABC News, 7 June 2026
Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Phone numbers, email addresses, and websites can all be spoofed to appear legitimate.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for spoof
Noun
Early-aughts nostalgia paid off better than ’80s, as Masters of the Universe’s box-office numbers trailed behind the horror spoof.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 7 June 2026
Another spoof, this time of golden-age Broadway musicals.
—ABC News, 7 June 2026
Verb
Candyman, the 1992 movie starring the late Tony Todd as the titular character, was spoofed when Shorty stood in front of a mirror and chanted Candyman over and over again to try to reach the character.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Phone numbers, email addresses, and websites can all be spoofed to appear legitimate.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for spoof
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoof
Noun
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Their outmoded style, with its seriousness and corniness, its big acting choices and low budgets, is basically impossible to recreate without falling into parody.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
19 June 2026
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Frankie stars in the musical comedy, a parody of the 1997 blockbuster Titanic set to a score of songs by Céline Dion.—
Yamillah Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Within a couple of hours, Wilkins’ replies to the post were flooded with accusations of favoritism, questioning the use of taxpayer funds to book her and mocking her sincerity about being chosen as a performer following high-profile exits from the event.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
24 June 2026
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The 19-year-old was mocked as a late first-round, early second-round selection.—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
24 June 2026
Verb
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The program trains itself to follow your eyeballs and then tries to trick players by moving the circles.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
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Those sites were designed to look real enough to trick people into entering credit card details, passwords or other sensitive information.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Those still carry weight, but many have become easier to acquire, finance, or imitate.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
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Once the squid gather near the surface, lines fitted with bait are lowered into the water and rapidly jerked up and down to imitate small prey such as shrimp, triggering strikes before the catch is reeled aboard.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
20 June 2026
Verb
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Don’t be fooled; this isn’t your typical museum.—
Sierra Vandervort,
Travel + Leisure,
20 June 2026
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Don’t be fooled by its breezy ’60s-analog vintage pop sound.—
Daniel Kohn,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
Verb
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The thing is, a lot of people have a talent for deceiving the public.—
Juan J. Arroyo,
Rolling Stone,
21 June 2026
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Park and weather officials alike emphasize to Grand Canyon visitors that hiking conditions can be deceiving.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spoof.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoof. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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