satire

Also found in: Thesaurus, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

satire

the use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm, etc., to expose folly or vice or to lampoon someone; burlesque, caricature, parody

Not to be confused with:

satyr – one of a class of Greek woodland gods with a goat’s or horse’s ears and tail and budding horns; a lustful or sensual man; lecher

sat·ire

(săt′īr′)

a. A literary work in which human foolishness or vice is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.

b. The branch of literature constituting such works.

2. Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose human foolishness or vice.

[Latin satira, probably alteration (influenced by Greek satur, satyr, and saturos, burlesque of a mythical episode) of (lanx) satura, fruit (plate) mixture, from feminine of satur, sated, well-fitted; see sā- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

satire

(ˈsætaɪə)

1. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a novel, play, entertainment, etc, in which topical issues, folly, or evil are held up to scorn by means of ridicule and irony

2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) the genre constituted by such works

3. the use of ridicule, irony, etc, to create such an effect

[C16: from Latin satira a mixture, from satur sated, from satis enough]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sat•ire

(ˈsæt aɪ^ər)

n.

1. the use of irony, sarcasm, or ridicule in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

2. a literary composition or genre in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

[1500–10; < Latin satira, variant of satura medley, perhaps feminine derivative of satur sated (see saturate)]

syn: See irony¹.

satire

A genre using irony or ridicule to hold contentious issues, folly, or evil in scorn.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

satire - witty language used to convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"; "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"--Jonathan Swift

caustic remark, irony, sarcasm

humor, wit, witticism, wittiness, humour - a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter

satire

noun

1. mockery, wit, irony, ridicule, sarcasm, raillery, pasquinade It's an easy target for satire.

2. parody, mockery, caricature, send-up (Brit. informal), spoof (informal), travesty, takeoff (informal), lampoon, skit, burlesque A sharp satire on the American political process.

Quotations
"It's hard not to write satire" [Juvenal Satires]
"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own" [Jonathan Swift The Battle of the Books]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

satire

noun

A work, as a novel or play, that exposes folly by the use of humor or irony:

lampoon, lampoonery.

Translations

نَقْد ساخِر، كِتابة ساخِرَه

satira

satire

szatíra

háîsádeila, satíra

satira satireggiare satiricamente satirico scrittore satirico

satyrasatyrikassatyrinissatyriškai parodyti

satīra

satiră

satira

satir

yergi hiciv

сатира

讽刺作品

satire

[ˈsætaɪəʳ] N → sátira f (on contra)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

satire

[ˈsætaɪə^r] n → satire f
a satire on sth → une satire sur qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

satire

n → Satire f (→ on auf +acc); the satire in his voice → die Ironie in seiner Stimme

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

satire

[ˈsætaɪəʳ] n satire (on) → satira (di, su)

satire

(ˈsӕtaiə) noun

(a piece of) writing etc that makes someone look foolish. a satire on university life.

saˈtirical (-ˈti-) adjective

1. of satire. satirical writing.

2. mocking. in a satirical mood.

ˈsatirist (-ˈti-) noun

a person who writes or performs satire(s).

ˈsatirize, ˈsatirise (-ti-) verb

to make look foolish by using satire.

References in classic literature ?

As, in the serious style, Homer is pre-eminent among poets, for he alone combined dramatic form with excellence of imitation, so he too first laid down the main lines of Comedy, by dramatising the ludicrous instead of writing personal satire. His Margites bears the same relation to Comedy that the Iliad and Odyssey do to Tragedy.

View in context

"Five Weeks in a Balloon" is, in a measure, a satire on modern books of African travel.

View in context

Perhaps best of all you will like his satire Of the mean and sure estate.

View in context

Most of his poems, other than certain political satire, which drew on him the Emperor's wrath, are full of subtle sadness and fragrant regret, reminding one of pot-pourri in some deep blue porcelain bowl.

View in context

Hence the characteristic Restoration verse is satire of a prosaic sort which scarcely belongs to poetry at all.

View in context

But this last were fitter for a satire than for a serious observation.

View in context

"That, Sancho," returned Don Quixote, "reminds me of what happened to a famous poet of our own day, who, having written a bitter satire against all the courtesan ladies, did not insert or name in it a certain lady of whom it was questionable whether she was one or not.

View in context

The artist has this advantage over the rest of the world, that his friends offer not only their appearance and their character to his satire, but also their work.

View in context

I think that hardly less immoral than the lubricity of literature, and its celebration of the monkey and the goat in us, is the spectacle such criticism affords of the tigerish play of satire. It is monstrous that for no offence but the wish to produce something beautiful, and the mistake of his powers in that direction, a writer should become the prey of some ferocious wit, and that his tormentor should achieve credit by his lightness and ease in rending his prey; it is shocking to think how alluring and depraving the fact is to the young reader emulous of such credit, and eager to achieve it.

View in context

My friends, there hath arisen a satire on your friend: "Behold Zarathustra!

View in context

But this is as nothing compared with Rataziaev's foul intention to place us in his books, and to describe us in a satire. He himself has declared that he is going to do so, and other people say the same.

View in context

I daresay his papers, if he has left any, include some satires that may be published without too destructive results fifty years hence.