Meaning & use
caricatured
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“caricatured” is a form of “caricature”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Drew, described or portrayed someone or something in an exaggerated way that stresses its most noticeable features.
Grammar: Takes an object: the paper caricatured the mayor.
Patterns
- caricature someone as something
The cartoonist caricatured the president with an enormous nose.
The film caricatured small-town life as slow and silly.
Critics said the novel caricatured its villains.
adjectivebefore a noun
Shown or described in a distorted, exaggerated style.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a caricatured portrait.
The caricatured faces on the poster made everyone laugh.
He gave a caricatured version of his boss's accent.
The book presents a caricatured view of rural life.
Word forms
| base form | caricature |
|---|---|
| third person singular | caricatures |
| -ing form | caricaturing |
Common combinations
- caricatured as something
- The senator was caricatured as a miser.
- be caricatured by the press
- Politicians are often caricatured by the press.
- a caricatured portrait
- A caricatured portrait hung over the bar.
- heavily caricatured
- The characters are heavily caricatured.
- unfairly caricatured
- Farmers have been unfairly caricatured as simple.
Synonyms and how they differ
- satirized
- Suggests mocking something to criticize it, which caricaturing may not do.
- mocked
- Means making fun of someone, without the visual exaggeration.
- exaggerated
- Is a plain word for overstating, with no link to art or portraits.
- parodied
- Means imitating a work or style for comic effect.
Word family
- caricature noun
- A drawing or description that exaggerates a person's features.
- caricaturist noun
- A person who draws caricatures.
- caricature verb
- To make a caricature of someone or something.
Commonly confused: caricatured or characterized?
caricatured vs characterized
Means described by typical qualities and need not be exaggerated, while 'caricatured' always distorts.
Practice
The cartoon ____ the minister as a giant clock to show how often he was late.
Choose one answer.
'Caricatured' means portrayed with comic exaggeration; 'characterized' is neutral description and the others do not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “caricatured”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.