as in parody
a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect
it is interesting to note that the first novel ever written in English was followed by a burlesque of it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to parody
to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of
burlesquing the teacher's nervous tic isn't very nice
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of burlesque
Susan Morrison, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
During a stop on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in June, Roan said horror movies, burlesque and theater also inspire her and her stylist Genesis Webb.
—Daniel S. Levine, People.com, 31 Dec. 2024
Armond White, National Review, 26 May 2023
The seeming callousness with which the dancers burlesque a fourteen-year-old’s death—the breezy way that the dance turns a killing into a sight gag—induces a shiver.
—Jody Rosen, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for burlesque
Noun
The comedy derived from pie-in-the-face burlesque, but what distinguished the show was its frenetic pacing.
—Susan Morrison, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
During a stop on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in June, Roan said horror movies, burlesque and theater also inspire her and her stylist Genesis Webb.
—Daniel S. Levine, People.com, 31 Dec. 2024
Verb
That song doesn’t belong in a film that promotes the era’s social fragmentation and repeats fatuous antagonisms — burlesqued by Melissa McCarthy playing the sea world’s villainous white-witch octopus Ursula.
—Armond White, National Review, 26 May 2023
The seeming callousness with which the dancers burlesque a fourteen-year-old’s death—the breezy way that the dance turns a killing into a sight gag—induces a shiver.
—Jody Rosen, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for burlesque
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burlesque
Noun
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Ferrell's Ricky Bobby also serves as a pitch-perfect parody of the ego-driven, preening male protagonists of many a racing film.—
James Mercadante,
EW.com,
20 May 2025
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Saturday Night Live's best car sketches, parodies and fake ads Who is in the Season 50 'SNL' cast?—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Read: The attack on trans rights won’t end there The impossible becoming possible is a hard thing to process—and easier to reject or mock than to understand.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2025
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Film director Wes Anderson mocked President Donald Trump over his plan to slap tariffs on foreign films made outside of the United States.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Their spoof of Donald Trump and Joe Biden bickering about who was the better golfer was conceived and recorded while the CNN presidential debate was still ongoing, and released immediately afterward.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
27 May 2025
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Appealing to the kids Somehow, the Chargers and Colts ended up with the same approach of a Minecraft theme, and both making a spoof of the Rapoport-Schultz scuffle.—
Schuyler Dixon,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2025
Verb
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At Cruise’s behest, McQuarrie’s stunts imitate the most primitive filmmaking — not the awe-inspiring magic of Georges Méliès but the Lumière brothers’ rudimentary documentation of action.—
Armond White,
National Review,
23 May 2025
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Walton imitated the big-box retail store and located them in small towns.—
Dileep Rao,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Oscar Contenders Emerging From First Half Include 'Nouvelle Vague' and Jennifer Lawrence for 'Die My Love' Adding to that pressure, most of the guest stars showed up to the first season of the Hollywood satire to play themselves under heightened circumstances.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
21 May 2025
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Featuring David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone, the film stabs at political satire but is best enjoyed for its visceral campy pleasures.—
James Mercadante,
EW.com,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Burlesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burlesque. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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