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
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024
This show drops classic Star Wars characters into the world of burlesque and transports you to the dark side for an evening of hilarious, sultry fun.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 6 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
In the nineteen-thirties, Gypsy Rose Lee, perhaps the world’s most famous stripper, helped transform burlesque from a vulgar pastime to café-society entertainment, simply by acting refined.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024
This show drops classic Star Wars characters into the world of burlesque and transports you to the dark side for an evening of hilarious, sultry fun.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 6 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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In actuality, everything — unbeknownst to him — was ridiculously staged in a pitch-perfect reality TV parody, as comedy improv actors like David Hornsby and pre-Saturday Night Live Kristen Wiig would put Gould smack dab in the middle of absurd situation after absurd situation.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
20 Mar. 2025
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For cases relating to works of fiction, parody and satire, courts recognize that the examination must focus on what the publisher intended to convey, the company says.—
Winston Cho,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The plans, mocked up by Populous, include a sky bar overlooking the pitch, a stadium roof-walk experience, a 3,000-capacity fan zone, a 400-bed hotel (part of the Radisson group), a new club shop and museum.—
Tom Burrows,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
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Social media trends come and go, but one craze that appears to have outstayed its welcome is the desire to mock millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996).—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The actor, who originally starred on SNL from 1989 to 1995, appeared as the tech billionaire — and head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — in a spoof of Trump’s heated Feb. 28 White House exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.—
Bailey Richards,
People.com,
2 Mar. 2025
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Olive Sturgess, who appeared on about two dozen TV Westerns and got to act alongside Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Jack Nicholson in the Roger Corman 1963 cult horror spoof The Raven, died Feb. 19, her family announced.—
Mike Barnes,
The Hollywood Reporter,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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It’s been imitated to death by lesser films in the years that followed, but this first appearance still has a disarming spark.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
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So Far View List Life, however, will not be imitating art for Bassett.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Though Duck Soup is often lauded as a satire of the vagaries of international geopolitics, its greatness doesn’t depend on justification from serious beard-strokers.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
19 Mar. 2025
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Battlestar Galactica watch on prime video The Boys Years: 2019-present Length: 4 seasons, 32 episodes Creator: Eric Kripke One of Prime’s biggest hits is this satire of superhero culture based on the graphic novel by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Burlesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burlesque. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
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