mock
/mɒk
/verb [with object]
1Tease or laugh at in a scornful or contemptuous manner: opposition MPs mocked the government’s decision...
- We laughed, we mocked, we teased, we made fun of each other, we made fun of strangers.
- Later, he had party members laughing as he mocked the premier's economic recovery plan.
- I worked in talkback radio for several years and when the microphone is off, people like him are openly mocked and laughed at by the hosts.
Synonyms
ridicule, jeer at, sneer at, deride, treat with contempt, treat contemptuously, scorn, make fun of, poke fun at, laugh at, make jokes about, laugh to scorn, scoff at, pillory, be sarcastic about, tease, taunt, make a monkey of, rag, chaff, jibe at;
Australian/New Zealand chiack
informal kid, rib, josh, twit
British informal wind up, take the mickey out of
British vulgar slang take the piss out of
North American informal goof on, rag on, razz, pull someone's chain
Australian/New Zealand informal poke mullock at, sling off at
dated make sport of
sneering, derisive, contemptuous, scornful, sardonic, insulting, satirical, sarcastic, ironic, ironical, quizzical, teasing, taunting
1.1Make (something) seem laughably unreal or impossible: at Christmas, arguments and friction mock our pretence at peace...
- But if the past is any guide, the left will succeed once again in blocking the nomination of a minority judicial candidate whose success mocks their mantra that minorities can't make it in America.
- It mocks principles of justice, including basic norms of fairness, as well the underlying basis of contract law, which is the orderly regulation and development of commercial life.
- This is the time to decide whether this country and, by logical extension, the fate of the world should be in the hands of a leader whose essential mode of governance mocks the ideals of a free society.
1.2Mimic (someone or something) scornfully or contemptuously: he ought to find out who used his name, mocked his voice, and aped a few of his guitar lines...
- When he looked up, he saw Kerna mocking him, imitating a woman drinking tea on the same log before the thicket.
- I mimicked the innocent grin she displayed herself moments ago, mocking her now displeased demeanor.
- The children burst out laughing when she mocked the way some people took food, comparing it to the cows chewing its cud.
Synonyms
parody, ape, guy, take off, caricature, satirize, lampoon, imitate, mimic
informal send up, spoof
2 (mock something up) Make a replica or imitation of something.The furniture and decorations were not mocked up in every detail, but the draped table and open Bible were modelled, and the seated woman was represented by a lay figure in a dress....
- I played it into a computer and then a friend of mine had this computer that could bring in all kinds of synthetic instruments, so we sort of mocked it up, using oboes, and cellos.
- If you have a scanner (slide scanner preferred), go ahead and scan your images and mock something up.
adjective [attributive]
1Not authentic or real, but without the intention to deceive: a mock-Georgian red brick house Jim threw up his hands in mock horror...
- As the cop turns to leave, the punk's screams change from mock protest to real anger.
- The mock smoking group showed higher accuracy after smoking a real cigarette than after mock smoking, however their response times remained unaffected.
- We ate fish served with a salad and baked potatoes, followed by a dessert of real strawberries in mock cream (made up from powdered milk).
Synonyms
imitation, artificial, man-made, manufactured, simulated, synthetic, ersatz, plastic, so-called, fake, false, faux, reproduction, replica, facsimile, dummy, model, toy, make-believe, sham, spurious, bogus, counterfeit, fraudulent, forged, pseudo, pretended
informal pretend, phoney
1.1(Of an examination, battle, etc.) arranged for training or practice: mock GCSEs...
- Last month re-enactors staged a mock battle at the site, as a testing ground before the full festival on September 23 and 24 next year.
- Various re-enactment groups, from Vikings to 20th century, will liven up the event with mock battles and drills.
- This video is funny, like the guys on donkeys, but becomes chilling as the children engage in their mock battle.
noun
1 (mocks) British informal Mock examinations: obtaining Grade A in mocks...
- And by December, GCSE mocks are being sat before the final exam timetables come through in Spring.
- I get so stressed taking exams that during my mocks it stopped me sleeping and made me physically sick - how can I control this for the real thing?
- She said: ‘I started to do A-levels, but left after the mocks.’
2 dated An object of derision: he has become the mock of all his contemporaries
Phrases
make (a) mock of
Derivatives
mockable
- Even some of the most easily mockable aspects of business life - meetings to plan for meetings, mission statements, presentation slides, to name but three - are not complete jokes.
- This insular satire, this xenophobic comedy, said that foreigners, insofar as it recognized them, are funny, mockable for the sin of deviating from the white, English norm.
- Rather than finding quotes that are genuinely worth mocking, the author feels the pressure to find something from his target, and the bar for what's mockable necessarily gets lowered.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French mocquer 'deride'.