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satires - 2 dictionary results

sat⋅ire

  [sat-ahyuhr]
Use satires in a Sentence
–noun
1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.
Origin:
1500–10; < L satira, var. of satura medley, perh. fem. deriv. of satur sated (see saturate )

Synonyms:
1. See irony 1 . 2, 3. burlesque, caricature, parody, travesty. Satire, lampoon refer to literary forms in which vices or follies are ridiculed. Satire, the general term, often emphasizes the weakness more than the weak person, and usually implies moral judgment and corrective purpose: Swift's satire of human pettiness and bestiality. Lampoon refers to a form of satire, often political or personal, characterized by the malice or virulence of its attack: lampoons of the leading political figures.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sat·ire   (sāt'īr')   
n.  
    1. A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.
    2. The branch of literature constituting such works. See Synonyms at caricature.
  2. Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity.

[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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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