1
as in parody
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something
rigged from the start, his trial was a travesty of justice
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spoof
a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect
the big-screen version of the classic sitcom is actually a good-natured travesty of the TV series
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to parody
to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of
this comedy sketch mindlessly travesties the hard work of relief workers around the world
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of travesty
The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 28 Jan. 2025
Veteran attorneys in Miami said Trump’s clemency favors for the Jan. 6 offenders were a travesty — and not only because they were convicted of assaulting police officers while vandalizing the U.S. Capitol after Trump had urged his supporters at a rally earlier that day to march to Congress.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 23 Jan. 2025
The New Republic, 22 June 2023
Readers may be tempted to side at one moment with the defenders of Jewish caution and Jewish sentiment, however their instincts are travestied, and soon afterward with Zuckerman’s principled view of the autonomy of art.
—Cynthia Ozick, WSJ, 25 May 2018
See All Example Sentences for travesty
Noun
Until Californians put students ahead of union interests, this travesty will continue.
—The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 28 Jan. 2025
Veteran attorneys in Miami said Trump’s clemency favors for the Jan. 6 offenders were a travesty — and not only because they were convicted of assaulting police officers while vandalizing the U.S. Capitol after Trump had urged his supporters at a rally earlier that day to march to Congress.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
In 1933, the Marx Brothers mocked dictatorship with Duck Soup; three decades later, Kubrick and writer Terry Southern travestied the Bomb.
—The New Republic, 22 June 2023
Readers may be tempted to side at one moment with the defenders of Jewish caution and Jewish sentiment, however their instincts are travestied, and soon afterward with Zuckerman’s principled view of the autonomy of art.
—Cynthia Ozick, WSJ, 25 May 2018
See All Example Sentences for travesty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for travesty
Noun
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The user’s viral review sparked parodies across the app with user @Nathanwituk poking fun at the original poster in a Feb. 23 video.—
Paloma Chavez,
Sacramento Bee,
24 Feb. 2025
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Additionally, disco offered a framework for instrumentalists to play around with, as well as characteristics that cannot be boiled down to logic: there can also be affective reasons, regardless of whether the intent is irony, camp, parody, or the expression of genuine sentiment.—
Angelica Frey,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Feb. 2025
Noun
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During the sketch, Kardashian, 44, sang along in the spoof of the Lawrence Welk Show with Fred Armisen as Welk and Will Ferrell as singer and actor Robert Goulet.—
Marina Watts,
People.com,
17 Feb. 2025
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But with that music cue, mixed with slo-motion and the absurdity of the repetition, the spoof morphed into a formalist art film.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Cuba’s foreign minister mocked NED on social media.—
Peter Roskam,
National Review,
26 Feb. 2025
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Musk also mocked people who criticized the order on X, noting that workers could respond by asking an AI chatbot — such as Grok, owned by X — to create a list of accomplished tasks.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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After a joke about Adam Sandler’s fashion sense, O’Brien suddenly changed tone to address the devastation of the wildfires in Los Angeles, and how an awards show can seem self-indulgent if that context was not addressed.—
Annie Aguiar,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2025
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But from a pure comedy standpoint, the joke was just basic—and unfunny.—
Esther Zuckerman,
The Atlantic,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Gone were the regal ceremony and traditionalism, replaced by a humility intended to imitate Christ’s poverty.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
28 Feb. 2025
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Xi has no reason to imitate Putin’s reckless break with Europe and the United States.—
Michael Kimmage,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The Vice President’s face has been subject to mock meme edits for several months, as political commentators used editing tools to exaggerate his features and create child-like caricatures.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
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Amis’s caricatures retain their links to British reality; his observations about class, gender, and money still find their mark.—
Rachel Cusk,
Harper's Magazine,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The extraditions were done at the request of the U.S. government as President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline looms.—
Greg Wehner,
Fox News,
28 Feb. 2025
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Brown revealed her new platinum blonde ‘do at the start of the month, before giving her locks their red carpet debut at Sunday’s 2025 SAG Awards.—
Kirsty Hatcher,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The set comes with two shams and a woven quilt that feels smooth and comfortable to sleep under all year round, according to shoppers.—
Toni Sutton,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
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The breakdown of democracy in the United States will not give rise to a classic dictatorship in which elections are a sham and the opposition is locked up, exiled, or killed.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Travesty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travesty. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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