a writer whose burlesque often bordered on cruelty
3
: theatrical entertainment of a broadly humorous often earthy character consisting of short turns (see turnentry 2 sense 4d), comic skits, and sometimes striptease acts
caricature implies ludicrous exaggeration of the characteristic features of a subject.
caricatures of politicians in cartoons
burlesque implies mockery especially through giving a serious or lofty subject a frivolous treatment.
a nightclub burlesque of a trial in court
parody applies especially to treatment of a trivial or ludicrous subject in the exactly imitated style of a well-known author or work.
a witty parody of a popular novel
travesty implies that the subject remains unchanged but that the style is extravagant or absurd.
this production is a travesty of the opera
Example Sentences
Noun The book is a burlesque of Victorian society. a writer whose burlesque often bordered on cruelty Several important 20th-century performers got their start in burlesque. Verbburlesquing the teacher's nervous tic isn't very nice
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
As this writer wrote once, Warhol showed us that the apotheosis and the burlesque of Whitman’s dream turned out to look more or less the same. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 July 2022 Chlöe’s detractors found the bump and grind of her choreography, reminiscent of Black burlesque, anywhere from concerning to downright disrespectful.Allure, 13 May 2022 This burlesque of rotten movies and overwrought acting excuses bad choices and lack of control through the dubious notion that audiences are superior to it all. Armond White, National Review, 22 Apr. 2022 Dollar bills flew and tassels twirled Friday, March 11, 2022, as The French Connection burlesque and variety show took the stage at the White Rabbit. Michelle Pemberton, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Apr. 2022 Their junior-high burlesque is a sight gag as well as the heart of the series; more literally than most teen pariahs, Maya and Anna have trouble fitting in. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2021 But many of the most splendid creations seen here are for drag and burlesque — gloves designed to be worn and then, finger by finger, flirtatiously removed.New York Times, 12 Aug. 2021 But the brilliant thing about online burlesque, Higgs told me, was that there was no bar. Madison Moore, The Atlantic, 26 July 2021 Reynolds points out that the shows displayed genuine pathos and nobility in addition to racist burlesque. Sean Wilentz, The New York Review of Books, 13 Apr. 2021
Verb
Similar to past years, the festival will feature a variety of performances ranging from singers to storytellers, magic to mind reading and belly dancing to burlesque. Kathy Cichon, chicagotribune.com, 27 Aug. 2020 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
burlesque, adjective, comic, droll, from French, from Italian burlesco, from burla joke, from Spanish