as in parodies
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 mocks
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 tricks
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 spoofs
Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 19 Mar. 2026
Way better than dusty game show and dinner party spoofs.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Jan. 2026
What’s Upstairs at the Downstairs is always a patchwork of mild satire, blatant spoofs, witty music, local jokes.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 21 Dec. 2025
For instance, think back to when everyone was doing spoofs about titles that dealt with women in trains or in windows or in peril.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
Indeed, Altman, by virtue of the sheer number of spoofs, appears to have joined the pantheon of comic figures alongside South Park’s Eric Cartman and Family Guy’s Peter Griffin.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2025
Lead Stories is a media organization that specializes in fact-checking and online spoofs.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
Today, Neeson is doing action spoofs (thank God), and even the John Wick series has run its course.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2025
Todd Spangler, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
This sketch essentially spoofs his brand partnerships and bland style.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2025
The film spoofs The Shining (1980), The Lost Boys (1987) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) with the blocky LEGO characters.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Screamboat, a horror movie that spoofs the character, debuted earlier this year.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 24 Sep. 2025
Noun
Retro Rewind players run a Blockbuster Video-like movie-rental store set in the early 1990s, complete with spoofs of real blockbusters of the era.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 19 Mar. 2026
Way better than dusty game show and dinner party spoofs.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Jan. 2026
What’s Upstairs at the Downstairs is always a patchwork of mild satire, blatant spoofs, witty music, local jokes.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 21 Dec. 2025
For instance, think back to when everyone was doing spoofs about titles that dealt with women in trains or in windows or in peril.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
Indeed, Altman, by virtue of the sheer number of spoofs, appears to have joined the pantheon of comic figures alongside South Park’s Eric Cartman and Family Guy’s Peter Griffin.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2025
Lead Stories is a media organization that specializes in fact-checking and online spoofs.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
Today, Neeson is doing action spoofs (thank God), and even the John Wick series has run its course.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
One of the Anthropic ads — a version of which will air on NBC’s Super Bowl LX telecast — spoofs an OpenAI commercial that depicts a young man doing pull-ups in a park and uses ChatGPT to create a workout plan.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
This sketch essentially spoofs his brand partnerships and bland style.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2025
The film spoofs The Shining (1980), The Lost Boys (1987) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) with the blocky LEGO characters.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Screamboat, a horror movie that spoofs the character, debuted earlier this year.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoofs
Noun
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While the show featured many of the same characters, its format strayed from the sci-fi space narrative of Spaceballs and instead was a series of parodies, each episode serving as a satirical commentary on several contemporary hits, such as Lord of the Rings, American Idol and Harry Potter.—
Maddie Garfinkle,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
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Human artists have designed creative parodies of AI slop, but AI lacks the necessary self-awareness to parody itself, even with a human behind the wheel.—
Cath Virginia,
The Verge,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In an odd twist, ESPN’s Matt Miller mocks Joly to Denver with the 111th pick — which is the fourth-rounder that Miami dealt to the Broncos in the Jaylen Waddle deal that netted the Dolphins picks in the first, third and fourth rounds.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
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This seems like a reach, but many mocks now have Cooper, previously considered a second-round pick, going to the Jets in the middle of the first round.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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San Diego startup Neomorph on Monday announced a new $100 million investment for its molecular glue that tricks cancer cells into self-destructing.—
Noelle Harff,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
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During the final moments of the finale, Jimmy is seen sitting down for breakfast with Sofi after Paul (Harrison Ford) tricks him into meeting one last time.—
Stacy Lambe,
PEOPLE,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Aristotle said that art imitates nature (ars imitatur naturam), and for centuries, many artists sought to imitate their subjects as realistically as possible.—
Andrey Mir,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
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Whether or not life imitates art remains to be seen.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In a statement issued Friday, the commission accused X of using its 'blue checkmark' in a way that deceives users.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
5 Dec. 2025
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The fragmentary Ni 12501 tablet from the Early Dynastic III period of Mesopotamia breaks off when Fox deceives the inhabitants of the netherworld in his quest to retrieve the storm god Ishkur.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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What fools these non-OpenAI mortals must be.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spoofs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoofs. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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