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
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something to inspire ridicule
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