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
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
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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The films remained popular throughout the early 1940s, and their impact persevered via reruns, rereleases, and even parodies, such as Eddie Murphy's not-so-little Buckwheat on Saturday Night Live.—
Andrew Walsh,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
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O’Hara’s celebrity parodies for SCTV included Brooke Shields, Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Katherine Hepburn, Morgan Fairchild and gossip columnist Rona Barrett.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Chelsea Handler honors Rob Reiner, mocks DiCaprio's 'Titanic' vacationNeed a news break?—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
5 Jan. 2026
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There, Callahan mocks him, saying that killing him won't assuage Mike of his guilt.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Dec. 2025
Verb
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One of the dangers of the Midwestern climate is a late-winter warm spell that thaws the soil and tricks bulbs and other plants into sprouting too early.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
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This tricks incoming missiles into targeting the decoy instead of the actual jet.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Patagonia’s proprietary synthetic fill imitates down’s structure by spinning air-trapping microfilaments around a central fiber and requires fewer stabilizing seams and baffles than down.—
Kelly Bastone,
Outside,
10 Feb. 2026
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And, because life sometimes imitates art, Williams and Storrie are heading to the Olympics.—
Anna Zucca,
Vanity Fair,
23 Jan. 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
Cite this Entry
“Spoofs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoofs. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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