mockery
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English mokkery, from Anglo-Norman mokerie, mokery and Middle French mocquerie, moquerie, from moquer, moker (“to mock”) + -erie (“-ery”), perhaps from Byzantine Greek μωκός (mōkós, “mocker”), perhaps from Arabic مَكْر (makr, “scheme, plot”). Equivalent to mock + -ery.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]mockery (countable and uncountable, plural mockeries)
- The action of mocking; ridicule, derision.
- Something so lacking in necessary qualities as to inspire ridicule; a laughing-stock.
- (obsolete) Something insultingly imitative; an offensively futile action, gesture etc.
- Mimicry, imitation, now usually in a derogatory sense; a travesty, a ridiculous simulacrum.
- The defendant wasn't allowed to speak at his own trial - it was a mockery of justice.
Usage notes
[edit]- We often use make a mockery of someone or something, meaning to mock them. See also Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take
Synonyms
[edit]- See also Thesaurus:ridicule
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]action of mocking; ridicule, derision
|
something to inspire ridicule
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Byzantine Greek
- English terms suffixed with -ery
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with usage examples