satirists
Writers wielding ridicule
Satirists are writers or performers who use satire—humor, irony, or exaggeration—to criticize and mock human folly, vice, or political institutions.
The term applies across forms: Jonathan Swift was a satirist in prose, *The Onion* employs satirists in journalism, *Saturday Night Live* features satirists in sketch comedy.
The satirists had a field day with the scandal.
Harsh public mockery
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- parodySatirical imitation
- spoofComic exaggerated imitation
- mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
irony · sarcasm · burlesque · pastiche · send-up · travesty · exaggeration · understatement
Writers of comic material
- columnistsRegular opinion piece authors
- essayistsWriters of discursive prose
- cartoonistsCreators of illustrated humor
- commentatorsThose who analyze publicly
pundits · playwrights · novelists · journalists · comedians · performers · impersonators · polemicists
Clever, inventive humor
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
- timingArt of choosing moments
- deliveryConveyance of goods
- personaAssumed public identity
voice · commentary · observation · critique · expose · indictment · polemic · invective
Grimly mocking
- causticChemically burning; bitterly mocking
- scathingSeverely and bitingly critical
- bitingHarshly critical or cold
- acerbicSharp and biting
trenchant · mordant · cynical · irreverent · subversive · provocative · incisive · withering
Pretense of virtue
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- politicsGovernmental power struggles
- vanityExcessive pride in oneself
- greedExcessive desire for wealth
pretension · authority · injustice · folly · pomposity · bureaucracy · celebrity · media
lampoon
Harsh public mockery
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- parodySatirical imitation
- spoofComic exaggerated imitation
mockery · irony · sarcasm · burlesque · pastiche · send-up · travesty · exaggeration · understatement · deadpan
humorists
Writers of comic material
- columnistsRegular opinion piece authors
- essayistsWriters of discursive prose
- cartoonistsCreators of illustrated humor
commentators · pundits · playwrights · novelists · journalists · comedians · performers · impersonators · polemicists · critics
wit
Clever, inventive humor
persona · voice · commentary · observation · critique · expose · indictment · polemic · invective · editorial
sardonic
Grimly mocking
- causticChemically burning; bitterly mocking
- scathingSeverely and bitingly critical
- bitingHarshly critical or cold
acerbic · trenchant · mordant · cynical · irreverent · subversive · provocative · incisive · withering · cutting
hypocrisy
Pretense of virtue
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- politicsGovernmental power struggles
- vanityExcessive pride in oneself
greed · pretension · authority · injustice · folly · pomposity · bureaucracy · celebrity · media · religion
- comedycomedy, jokes, humor, puns, sarcasm
- humoristshumorists, wits, comics, comedians, jokers
- freethinkersfreethinker, freethinkers, secularists, rationalist, rationalists
- writersauthor, novelist, writer, poet, journalist
- criticscritic, critics, criticizer, criticizers, faultfinder
- doublesdouble, doubles, twin, twins, duplicate
satiristsflatterers
Those offering insincere praise
sycophants · eulogists · apologists · toadies · bootlickers
satiristscourt poets
Royalty's commissioned versifiers
spin doctors · mouthpieces · propagandists · loyalists · conformists