'Burlesque' definitions:
Definition of 'burlesque'
From: WordNet
adjective
Relating to or characteristic of a burlesque; "burlesque theater"
noun
A theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor; consists of comic skits and short turns (and sometimes striptease)
noun
A composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way [syn: parody, lampoon, spoof, sendup, mockery, takeoff, burlesque, travesty, charade, pasquinade, put-on]
verb
Definition of 'Burlesque'
From: GCIDE
- Burlesque \Bur*lesque"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burlesqued; p. pr. & vb. n. Burlesquing.] To ridicule, or to make ludicrous by grotesque representation in action or in language. [1913 Webster]
- They burlesqued the prophet Jeremiah's words, and turned the expression he used into ridicule. --Stillingfleet. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Burlesque'
From: GCIDE
- Burlesque \Bur*lesque"\, a. [F. burlesque, fr. It. burlesco, fr. burla jest, mockery, perh. for burrula, dim. of L. burrae trifles. See Bur.] Tending to excite laughter or contempt by extravagant images, or by a contrast between the subject and the manner of treating it, as when a trifling subject is treated with mock gravity; jocular; ironical. [1913 Webster]
- It is a dispute among the critics, whether burlesque poetry runs best in heroic verse, like that of the Dispensary, or in doggerel, like that of Hudibras. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Burlesque'
From: GCIDE
- Burlesque \Bur*lesque"\, n.
- 1. Ludicrous representation; exaggerated parody; grotesque satire. [1913 Webster]
- Burlesque is therefore of two kinds; the first represents mean persons in the accouterments of heroes, the other describes great persons acting and speaking like the basest among the people. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
- 2. An ironical or satirical composition intended to excite laughter, or to ridicule anything. [1913 Webster]
- The dull burlesque appeared with impudence, And pleased by novelty in spite of sense. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- 3. A ludicrous imitation; a caricature; a travesty; a gross perversion. [1913 Webster]
- Who is it that admires, and from the heart is attached to, national representative assemblies, but must turn with horror and disgust from such a profane burlesque and abominable perversion of that sacred institute? --Burke. [1913 Webster]
- Syn: Mockery; farce; travesty; mimicry. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Burlesque'
From: GCIDE
- Burlesque \Bur*lesque"\, v. i. To employ burlesque. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'burlesque'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- aggrandize,
- aggrandizement,
- agile wit,
- amplification,
- amplify,
- anamorphosis,
- ape,
- arlequinade,
- Atticism,
- bad likeness,
- ballyhoo,
- belie,
- big talk,
- black comedy,
- black humor,
- blowing up,
- botch,
- broad,
- broad comedy,
- Broadway,
- build up,
- burletta,
- camouflage,
- camp,
- caricatural,
- caricature,
- carnival,
- carry too far,
- circus,
- color,
- comedie bouffe,
- comedie larmoyante,
- comedie rosse,
- comedietta,
- comedy,
- comedy ballet,
- comedy of humors,
- comedy of ideas,
- comedy of intrigue,
- comedy of manners,
- comedy of situation,
- comedy relief,
- comic,
- comic muse,
- comic opera,
- comic relief,
- comical,
- copy,
- dark comedy,
- daub,
- derisive,
- dilatation,
- dilation,
- disguise,
- distort,
- distortion,
- doggerel,
- domestic comedy,
- drama,
- draw the longbow,
- dry wit,
- dummy,
- duplication,
- enhancement,
- enlargement,
- entertainment industry,
- esprit,
- exaggerate,
- exaggerating,
- exaggeration,
- excess,
- exode,
- exorbitance,
- expansion,
- extravagance,
- extreme,
- facsimile,
- falsify,
- farce,
- farce comedy,
- farcical,
- garble,
- genteel comedy,
- go to extremes,
- grandiloquence,
- harlequinade,
- hatchet job,
- heightening,
- high camp,
- hit off on,
- huckstering,
- humor,
- hyperbole,
- hyperbolism,
- hyperbolize,
- imitate,
- imitation,
- inflation,
- inordinacy,
- irony,
- knockoff,
- lampoon,
- lay it on,
- legit,
- legitimate stage,
- light comedy,
- low camp,
- low comedy,
- macaronic,
- magnification,
- magnify,
- make much of,
- malicious parody,
- mime,
- miscolor,
- misquote,
- misreport,
- misrepresent,
- misstate,
- misteach,
- mock,
- mock-heroic,
- mock-up,
- mockery,
- model,
- musical,
- musical comedy,
- nimble wit,
- off Broadway,
- off-off-Broadway,
- opera buffa,
- overcharge,
- overdo,
- overdraw,
- overemphasis,
- overestimate,
- overestimation,
- overkill,
- overpraise,
- overreach,
- overreact,
- oversell,
- overspeak,
- overstate,
- overstatement,
- overstress,
- paraphrase,
- parodic,
- parody,
- pasquil,
- pasquin,
- pasquinade,
- pastiche,
- pervert,
- pile it on,
- playland,
- pleasantry,
- poison pen,
- pretty wit,
- prodigality,
- profuseness,
- puff,
- puffery,
- puffing up,
- quick wit,
- raw comedy,
- ready wit,
- realistic comedy,
- repertory drama,
- replica,
- representation,
- reproduction,
- romantic comedy,
- salt,
- sarcasm,
- satire,
- satiric,
- satirical,
- satirize,
- satyr play,
- savor of wit,
- scratch,
- scribble,
- sensationalism,
- sentimental comedy,
- sham,
- show biz,
- show business,
- situation comedy,
- slant,
- slapstick,
- slapstick comedy,
- slapstick humor,
- spoof,
- squib,
- stage world,
- stagedom,
- stageland,
- stock,
- strawhat,
- strawhat circuit,
- stretch,
- stretch the truth,
- stretching,
- striptease,
- subtle wit,
- summer stock,
- superlative,
- take off,
- take off on,
- take-off,
- takeoff,
- talk big,
- talk in superlatives,
- tall talk,
- Thalia,
- the boards,
- the footlights,
- the scenes,
- the stage,
- the theater,
- theater world,
- theatromania,
- theatrophobia,
- tout,
- touting,
- tragicomedy,
- tragicomic,
- travesty,
- twist,
- understate,
- variety,
- vaudeville,
- version,
- visual humor,
- warp,
- wicked imitation,
- wit,
- wrench