mockery

noun

mock·​ery ˈmä-k(ə-)rē 

ˈmȯ-

plural mockeries

1

: insulting or contemptuous action or speech : derision

laying himself open to the jeers and mockeries of his rebellious subjects

—E. A. Freeman

2

: a subject of laughter, derision, or sport

making him turn himself into a merry mockery of all he had once held dear

—O. St. John Gogarty

3

a

: a counterfeit appearance : imitation

if it was not a man it was a huge and grotesque mockery of man

—E. R. Burroughs

b

: an insincere, contemptible, or impertinent (see impertinent sense 1a) imitation

makes a mockery of justice

4

: something ridiculously or impudently (see impudent sense 1) unsuitable

in her bitterness she felt that all rejoicing was mockery

—George Eliot

Synonyms

• caricature
• cartoon
• farce
• joke
• parody
• sham
• travesty

Examples of mockery in a Sentence

His kind of personality invites mockery.

the children's cruel mockery of each other

Recent Examples on the Web

Nottingham Forest is making a mockery of many pundits’ pre-season predictions. —Steve Price, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024

And so the two men, wielding their mockery, make a show of each chortle and smirk. —Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024

As New York becomes more cartoonishly difficult for human beings to live in, the existence of dogs feels like mockery. —Christopher Robbins, Curbed, 15 Aug. 2024

But alongside widespread mockery of Gunn herself runs speculation that Gunn’s presence at the Games had to be some sort of mistake, even corruption. —Aja Romano, Vox, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mockery

• self-mockery

Kids Definition

mockery

noun

mock·​ery ˈmäk-(ə-)rē 

ˈmȯk-

plural mockeries

1

: insulting action or speech

2

: someone or something that is laughed at

3

: a ridiculous or poor imitation