Meaning & use
mockery
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Meanings
noununcountable
Words, actions, or imitation meant to laugh at someone or something in a scornful way and make them look silly.
Grammar: No plural and no article in this sense: the crowd's mockery hurt, not a mockery.
Patterns
- mockery of something
- subject someone to mockery
- a target of mockery
The new student endured weeks of mockery over his accent.
Her speech drew nothing but mockery from the opposing team.
He took the mockery calmly and kept practicing.
nounsingulardisapproving
Something so poor or inadequate that it seems a joke compared with what it is supposed to be.
Grammar: Used with a: the trial was a mockery of justice.
Patterns
- a mockery of something
- make a mockery of something
The rigged vote was a mockery of democracy.
Charging that much for such a tiny room is a mockery.
Skipping the safety checks made a mockery of the whole inspection.
Word forms
| plural | mockeries |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a mockery of
- The delays made a mockery of the promised schedule.
- open to mockery
- Anyone who sings off-key on stage lays himself open to mockery.
- subject to mockery
- The mayor was subjected to public mockery after his gaffe.
- cruel mockery
- The cartoon was a piece of cruel mockery.
- a travesty and a mockery
- Fans called the refereeing a mockery of fair play.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ridicule
- Ridicule stresses the aim of making someone seem absurd, while mockery can also be playful imitation.
- derision
- Derision is harsher and more openly contemptuous than ordinary mockery.
- scorn
- Scorn describes a feeling of looking down on someone, whereas mockery is the visible behavior.
- travesty
- Travesty fits only the second sense, a poor imitation of something good, and is not used for teasing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: mockery or mimicry?
mockery vs mimicry
Mimicry is copying someone's voice or manner, often harmlessly; mockery adds contempt or an intention to humiliate.
Practice
The lavish party held during the famine was a ___ of the government's claims to care about its people.
Choose one answer.
A mockery of something is a hollow, absurd contrast with what it should be. Mimicry only means copying and carries no sense of insult.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mockery”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.