mock

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English mokken, from Middle French mocquer (“to deride, jeer”), from Middle Dutch mocken (“to mumble”) or Middle Low German mucken (“to grumble, talk with the mouth half-opened”), both from Old Saxon *mokkian, *mukkian (“to low, mumble”), from Proto-Germanic *mukkjanan, *mūhanan (“to low, bellow, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *mūg-, *mūk- (“to low, mumble”). Cognate with Old High German firmucken (“to be stupid”), Modern German mucksen (“to utter a word”), Dutch dialectal mokkel (“kiss”).

Pronunciation

Noun

mock (plural mocks)

  1. An imitation, usually with the connotation that it's one of lesser quality.
  2. Mockery, the act of mocking.
  3. A practice exam set by an educating institution to prepare students for an important exam.
    He got a B in his History mock, but improved to an A in the exam.

Translations

imitation
act of mocking
practice exam
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Verb

mock (third-person singular simple present mocks, present participle mocking, simple past and past participle mocked)

  1. To mimic, to simulate.
  2. To make fun of by mimicking, to taunt.
  3. To tantalise, and disappoint (the hopes of).
    • 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II, Act V, Scene III:
      And with his spirit sadly I survive, / to mock the expectations of the world; / to frustrate prophecies, and to raze out / rotten opinion [...]
    • 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act III, Scene III:
      "It is the greene-ey'd Monster, which doth mocke / The meate it feeds on."
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
      Why do I overlive? / Why am I mocked with death, and lengthened out / to deathless pain?
    • 1765, Benjamin Heath, A revisal of Shakespear's text, page 563 (a commentary on the "mocke the meate" line from Othello):
      ‘Mock’ certainly never signifies to loath. Its common signification is, to disappoint.
    • 1812, The Critical Review or, Annals of Literature, page 190:
      The French revolution indeed is a prodigy which has mocked the expectations both of its friends and its foes. It has cruelly disappointed the fondest hopes of the first, nor has it observed that course which the last thought that it would have pursued.

Synonyms

Translations

to mimic
to taunt
to disappoint someone
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
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See also

Adjective

mock (not comparable)

  1. imitation, not genuine (mock turtle soup, mock leather); fake

Translations

imitation, not genuine
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Last modified on 20 May 2013, at 01:37