the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
a literary genre comprising such compositions.
Origin of satire
First recorded in 1500–10; from Latin satira, variant of satura “medley,” perhaps feminine derivative of satur “sated” (see saturate)
SYNONYMS FOR satire
2, 3 burlesque, caricature, parody, travesty.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR satire ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for satire
1. See irony1. 2, 3. Satire,lampoon refer to literary forms in which vices or follies are ridiculed. Satire, the general term, often emphasizes the weakness more than the weak person, and usually implies moral judgment and corrective purpose: Swift's satire of human pettiness and bestiality.Lampoon refers to a form of satire, often political or personal, characterized by the malice or virulence of its attack: lampoons of the leading political figures.
OTHER WORDS FROM satire
non·sat·ire,noun
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH satire
1. satire , satyr2. burlesque, caricature, cartoon, parody, satire (see synonym study at burlesque)
13 Essential Literary TermsAristotle wrote that mastery over the art of metaphor is a sign of genius. It also lifts our storytelling to new heights, as do all of these literary devices.
A work of literature that mocks social conventions, another work of art, or anything its author thinks ridiculous. Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, is a satire of eighteenth-century British society.