lampoon.

1. A satirical work or attack that ridicules a person or target, usually with a harsh edge.

2. To ridicule a person or thing through satire, often in a sharply critical manner.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a lampoon of a politician
• a savage lampoon
• publish a lampoon

On the page

The pamphlet was a lampoon of the governor's vanity.

Her portrait of the committee became a sharp lampoon of institutional self-importance.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated prose. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: Noun singular lampoon; plural lampoons. Mass use where indicated by sense. Verb: lampoon; lampoons; lampooned; lampooned; lampooning. Commonness: moderately common (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: Direct dictionary reading: noun satire usually harsh, directed at an individual; verb make a target of a lampoon/ridicule. Distinguish harsh targeted satire from close stylistic parody. Not the proper publication names containing Lampoon. Individual usefulness checked for a precise literary, narrative, dialogue or critical function. Definitions and examples are original; commonness is an editorial estimate. Mood and intensity apply only to inherent qualities of the specific sense. Writing functions: sharp targeted satire, ridiculing personal or institutional vanity. Third-person singular: lampoons.