CARICATURES Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

caricatures 1 of 2

noun

plural of caricature

as in parodies

a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something that TV network's reporting is a mere caricature of real journalism

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in spoofs

a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect the artist creates caricatures of famous paintings by replacing humans with cats

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in exaggerations

the representation of something in terms that go beyond the facts the mayor has presented only a caricature of his opponent's views

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

caricatures

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of caricature

as in mocks

to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of caricatured the supervisor's distinctive walk

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of caricatures

Noun

As is the case with most election cycles, the claims and counterclaims about the ballot measures being voted on in California this time around are largely based on caricatures of the measures themselves. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 But Iñárritu’s caricatures become people in a way Kubrick’s don’t; as the bewildered President, for example, John Goodman is simultaneously grounded and theatrical in his presentation, recalling his best work with the Coen brothers. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026 Instead of digging into the details of personality and circumstance — this school has a specific class for Shakespeare and also English teachers who are literature-hating caricatures? — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026 In August, discount retailer Target stopped selling a children's Halloween costume that some critics said evoked racist minstrel caricatures, The Associated Press reported. — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026 Guests lined up to have caricatures drawn or waited patiently by the bar for a dirty martini or a margarita. — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 15 Sep. 2026 Civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, condemned the outfit as resembling historical anti-Jewish caricatures. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2026 The store pulled a children’s Halloween costume from its shelves Monday after widespread social media backlash over a garment that critics said evoked painful memories of racist minstrel caricatures. — Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026 There’s no outrageous violence or unpleasant caricatures, and the 157-minute runtime feels breezy. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for caricatures

Noun

The five stars teased the project with parodies of their characters in a promo video.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026
The name of the collection parodies the seriousness of the museum, even as the collection itself is the kind of thing that has traditionally gotten scant attention within actual institutions.

— Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of parodies

Noun

Blanchett cofounded the nonprofit Human Consent Foundation to help people register how AI models can — or cannot — scrape their likenesses in an effort to combat such spoofs.

— Corbin Bolies, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
It's been a great couple of years for horror movies, which means that the time was right for the return of horror spoofs.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of spoofs

Noun

Staffers for major political figures have puzzled over the content, and are growing concerned about the rise of a new wave of videos with errors, exaggerations, misleading comments, and a tone that can be downright weird.

— Max Tani, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Distracting from real issues These conspiracy theories are more than exaggerations for a broader audience.

— Aaron Coy Moulton, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of exaggerations

Verb

We are presented with a few potentially hissable villains, including an attorney for the state (Christian Rubeck) who mocks the Gheorghius’ faith and a frostily inflexible social worker, Gunda (Ellen Dorrit Petersen).

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is designed as an action flick as well as a portrait of a family dealing with tragedy and an insider’s look at an insular community that mocks harmful stereotypes without perpetrating them.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of mocks

Noun

For spring 2027, the 15-year-old brand was inspired by the sea, informing bright pastel color palette and distinctive textured sequin embroideries.

— Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
Her scrolled embroideries have since been described as tirades, rants, and screeds—no horses or cables, just the language pummeling the eye.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of embroideries

Verb

Constantin Brâncuși’s marble-and-limestone sculpture L’oiseau (1923/1947), for example, commands the space, while Wolfgang Tillmans’s 2022 photograph tree filling window imitates an open window in a closed space.

— Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Over the weekend, movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment accused Robinhood of creating an unauthorized market that imitates trading in AMC shares through its overseas platform without the company’s approval.

— Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of imitates

Noun

The candle smells of cereal, milk and lemon and is intended to recall the days of watching Saturday morning cartoons and summer.

— Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Ridicule and mockery are ubiquitous in industrialized societies, from political cartoons to social media.

— Christopher von Rueden, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of cartoons

Browse Nearby Words

caricatured

caricatures

caricaturing

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Caricatures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caricatures. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of caricatures

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes