travesty
travesty Lexical Profile
travesty Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A false, absurd, or distorted representation of something serious or dignified.
"The defense attorney argued that the hasty trial was a complete travesty of justice."
A literary or dramatic composition that grotesquely or absurdly imitates a serious work in order to make it appear ridiculous.
"The playwright wrote a humorous travesty of classical Greek mythology for the festival."
• verb
To represent or imitate in a false, absurd, or grotesque way so as to make ridiculous.
"Critics complained that the low-budget adaptation travestied the author's original novel."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Travesty' is frequently confused with 'tragedy', as both appear in negative contexts, but a travesty specifically denotes a grotesque distortion or mockery of something serious (such as 'a travesty of justice'), rather than a sorrowful or catastrophic event.
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-17th century from French 'travesti' ('disguised'), the past participle of 'travestir', from Italian 'travestire' ('to disguise'), formed from 'tra-' (from Latin 'trans-', 'across') and 'vestire' ('to clothe'). Originally used as an adjective meaning 'dressed so as to be made ridiculous', it quickly came to refer to burlesque literary parodies.