Synonyms for travesty
Most common
Definitions
- n. 1
A pastiche, parody, or stylistic imitation; a burlesque literary or artistic imitation (typically of a more serious work).
Related words
- Word family
- transvestite
Forms
- Plural
- travesties → mockeries, parodies, burlesques, caricatures…
Choose the right word
A parody changes the subject, but keeps the style; a travesty keeps the subject, but changes the style; a burlesque does not hold itself to either subject or style; but is content with a general resemblance to what it may imitate.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- parody The parody became more popular than the original.
- mockery He got hundreds of anonymous letters in mockery.
- caricature This is not a parody, but a friendly caricature.
- farce Elon Musk has proven capitalism to be a farce.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| travesty | steady | |
| parody | rising | |
| mockery | rising | |
| caricature | steady | |
| farce | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- mock1
- 5 letters
- farce1, spoof1
- 6 letters
- parody3
- 7 letters
- takeoff2, mockery3, lampoon2
- 8 letters
- disguise2
- 9 letters
- imitation4, burlesque2
- 10 letters
- caricature4, pasquinade
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (parody3 = 3 syllables).