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/bərlˈɛsk/ Listen

noun

Burlesque n.

Ludicrous representation; exaggerated parody; grotesque satire. "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."

An ironical or satirical composition intended to excite laughter, or to ridicule anything. "The dull burlesque appeared with impudence, And pleased by novelty in spite of sense."

A ludicrous imitation; a caricature; a travesty; a gross perversion. "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?"

Synonyms: Mockery; farce; travesty; mimicry.

verb

Burlesque v. t. (past & past part. burlesqued; pres. part. burlesquing) To ridicule, or to make ludicrous by grotesque representation in action or in language. "They burlesqued the prophet Jeremiah's words, and turned the expression he used into ridicule."

Burlesque v. i. To employ burlesque.

adjective

Burlesque adj. 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. "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."

See images of 'Burlesque'

Etymology of 'Burlesque'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Burlesque" Quotes from Famous Books

... it into a small square, laid it on the wet beaten grass, and sat thereon, arching his knees till only the soles of his boots touched the ground. To Alec's eye his long, thin figure looked so odd, bent into this repeated angle, that he almost suspected burlesque, but none was intended. The youth clasped his hands round his knees, the better to keep himself upright, and seated thus a few yards from the body, he shared the watch for some time as mute as was all else in that ...

— What Necessity Knows • Lily Dougall

... however, to belong to a later date; and the quaint stanza, afterwards employed in a modified form with such effect by Fergusson and Burns, is that used by Alexander Scot in The Justing at the Drum, and in other burlesque pieces of the early or middle period of ...

— The Balladists - Famous Scots Series • John Geddie

... are, no doubt, secret friends, needing a little more courage to face the pro-slavery feeling and sentiment which are all about them. Some one who read these resolutions suggested the idea of their being a burlesque. I repudiated the idea at once. They will commend themselves to you, dear Aunty, I am ...

— The Sable Cloud - A Southern Tale With Northern Comments (1861) • Nehemiah Adams

... of young women, fond to excess of music, which have no other origin than the prayer of the Hebrews in the third act, with its superb change of key.'" Thus by a stroke of genius, a scene which first impressed the audience as a piece of theatrical burlesque, was raised to sublimity by the solemn music written ...

— Great Italian and French Composers • George T. Ferris

... without power, is supposed to select the assignees. Thus it happens that the judge almost always appoints as assignees those creditors whom it suits the bankrupt to have,—another abuse which makes the catastrophe of bankruptcy one of the most burlesque dramas to which justice ever lent her name. The honorable bankrupt overtaken by misfortune is then master of the situation, and proceeds to legalize the theft he premeditated. As a rule, the petty trades of Paris are guiltless in this respect. ...

— Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau • Honore de Balzac

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