mockery

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English

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Etymology

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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

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈmɒkəɹi/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈmɑkəɹi/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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mockery (countable and uncountable, plural mockeries)

  1. The action of mocking; ridicule, derision.
  2. Something so lacking in necessary qualities as to inspire ridicule; a laughing-stock.
  3. (obsolete) Something insultingly imitative; an offensively futile action, gesture etc.
  4. 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

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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