1
as in parody
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something
rigged from the start, his trial was a travesty of justice
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2025
Karen Read’s local attorney, David Yannetti, has to be even more prudent in his comments about this recent travesty of justice in Dedham.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 22 June 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
What shocks me is he's remained silent on the travesty that happened on the southern border.
—Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2025
Karen Read’s local attorney, David Yannetti, has to be even more prudent in his comments about this recent travesty of justice in Dedham.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 22 June 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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Bud Light plans to run a parody of the series, which gives fans up-close looks at the seasons of top NFL quarterbacks, via social media.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
10 July 2025
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His mask is a stitched thing — lipless, white, eerily smooth yet rugged — a grim parody of life.—
Daphne Woolsoncroft,
People.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
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Following the success of 1980 spoof film Airplane!, which made $78 million at the box office ($214 million today) co-directors David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker hoped to make a similar comedy about police officers inspired by the 1950s Lee Marvin drama series M Squad.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
13 July 2025
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The actress hosted a cookout with Bounty on June 25 in Los Angeles, and there, and shared her barbecue essentials and favorite scene from the spoof with PEOPLE. Hall, 54, has positive memories of working with Keenan Ivory Wayans for the first time on the set of the 2000 classic.—
Angelina Liu,
People.com,
7 July 2025
Verb
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And of course, that following Sunday, Oliver did indeed mock his corporate bosses for the move.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
8 July 2025
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Many wanted Tiger to comment, but others chose to mock Williams.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 July 2025
Noun
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And beyond the viral jokes littering Palmer’s comments are thousands of seemingly serious comments calling her video just an example of how leaning into feminine roles can be self care.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 July 2025
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Sriram peppers her debut with offbeat characters, sometimes giving them names that are jokes in and of themselves.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
11 July 2025
Verb
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And beyond device checks, smart verification systems can also monitor behavioral signals—like typing speed, location, or login habits—to spot anomalies that a cloned voice can’t imitate.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
10 July 2025
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His celebration imitated him sitting down playing a video game – a tribute to his former Portugal teammate Diogo Jota who died in a car crash last week.—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
10 July 2025
Noun
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Despite this blanket ban on racist caricatures, the hateful Veo 3 videos appear to be spreading unchecked.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 July 2025
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Many of Kidman’s better wigs are blonde or shoulder length, but this unfortunately doesn’t ring true for the HBO movie Hemingway & Gellhorn, which stars Clive Owen as a caricature of Ernest Hemingway and a Golden Globe–nominated Kidman as his wife, the journalist Martha Gellhorn.—
Jihane Bousfiha,
Vulture,
2 July 2025
Verb
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There are many ways to do this—on an external hard drive, in the cloud, Dropbox, iCloud, and Amazon Photos, which is free with Prime membership.—
Kathy Barnes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 July 2025
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Humanoid robots, because they are designed to mirror parts of the human body, have more axes—or joints—on them than many other form factors, like robotic arms or other AMRs do.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
10 July 2025
Noun
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All sets come with two matching pillow shams to complete your bedroom look.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 July 2025
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The basics that all comforter sets include are the comforter and one pillow sham, with some sets including an extra sham.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Travesty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travesty. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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