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
Gordon Cox, Variety, 24 Dec. 2024
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
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
Woods plays Rose’s daughter Louise, the young woman who would go on to become the real-life burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee.
—Gordon Cox, Variety, 24 Dec. 2024
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
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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Imagination was key to the films that Hess made after Napoleon Dynamite: the soulful Nacho Libre, in which Jack Black as a novice monk and Lucha Libre fan gave a fully rounded characterization, and the ingenious fantasy-fiction parody Gentlemen Broncos.—
Armond White,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2025
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Those include the parodies of commercials and public access programs that begin episodes, giving us introductions to Judaism and the French-Canadian mobsters and a particular brand of coffee in ways that, like so much in the series, feel fleetingly amusing rather than coherently realized.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Constance, the policy consultant, says his 29-year-old daughter had joined other liberal family members in mocking him over his participation in NatalCon.—
Meena Duerson,
CNN Money,
10 Apr. 2025
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Altman mocked Musk by making a counter-offer to buy X for $9.7 billion.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Plot details for The Naked Gun are being kept under wraps, but like the first three movies, viewers can expect a cop spoof filled with ridiculous sight gags.—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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Beginning in the ‘30s and really hitting their stride in the glorious color animation of the ‘40s and ‘50s, the Warner Bros. cartoons have certainly stretched the bounds of what’s possible in 8-11 minutes, from full opera spoofs to fourth-wall-breaking experiments.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Cubs beat the Dodgers 16-0 on Saturday, featuring an entertaining moment in which position-player-pitching Miguel Rojas imitated the deliveries of a few Dodgers pitchers.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
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Moreover, these models can imitate individuals' or industries' writing styles and wording.—
Kevin Korte,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The story works less as a Hollywood satire than as a survival thriller.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
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Scottish actor Capaldi, the twelfth Doctor in the Doctor Who universe (2013–2017), won several awards, including a British Academy Television Award, for his performance as Malcolm Tucker in the beloved satire The Thick of It (2005–2012).—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Burlesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burlesque. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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