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Glite Dictionary
to make a mockery of

to make a mockery of

21 6.7
To treat something as silly and show no respect
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : ridiculizar
  • Basically, she took the Bible and made a mockery of the entire thing.

He's laughing at you, he's making a mockery of the justice system.

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Examples

  • Mr. Dobbs, please do not make a mockery of this process.

    Man of the Year (2006)

  • Your Honor, defense counsel is making a mockery of procedure.

    Compulsion (1959)

  • You, sir, seek to make a mockery of us.

    Missing Link (2019)

  • Is this an excuse for making a mockery of my life?

    Arthur (2011)

  • You have made a mockery of our morality, of our religion.

    A Feast of Man (2016)

  • The voters deserve better, you're making a mockery of this debate.

    Ali G Indahouse (2002)

  • The universal failure to take effective action against genocide has made a mockery of the most sacred values of civilization.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Their control of the mass media makes a mockery of public discourse and investigative journalism.

    Blog text (31)

  • It makes a mockery of our institutions to have a corrupt and depraved man... in charge of our industry and government.

    Les Misérables (1998)

  • Your Honor, the defense is trying to make a mockery of this court.

Synonyms

to laugh at
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
456 2.0

To make fun of someone in a mean way to show they are silly

focuses more on actively treating the target as worthless and disrespectful
to make fun of
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
307 2.3

Laugh at someone or say things that make them feel embarrassed

is more explicitly about treating the target as worthless and ridiculous
to mock
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
209 3.4

Make fun of someone by copying them to show dislike

is about showing no respect by treating something as worthless
to disrespect
vsto make a mockery of
115 3.5

To show a lack of respect for someone

is stronger in actively treating the subject as worthless or ridiculous
to ridicule
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
108 4.6

To make someone look silly in a mean way so others laugh at them

is focused on treating something as worthless rather than mere scorn
to joke about
vsto make a mockery of
80 2.9

Say something funny, often unkind, about someone or something

is not simply humorous but aims to show lack of respect and worth
to belittle
vsto make a mockery of
45 5.0

To make someone or something seem not important

goes further by actively showing no respect and dismissing worth
to deride
vsto make a mockery of
26 7.8

To make fun of someone in a cruel way

aims specifically to show lack of respect by demeaning value
to poke fun
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
25 3.9

To make jokes about someone to make them look silly

is about showing contempt and treating the subject as worthless
to poke fun at
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
23 3.4

To make jokes about someone, sometimes to be playful and sometimes to be unkind

is harsher by treating the target as ridiculous and without respect
to satirize
vsto make a mockery of
9 7.2

To make fun of people or ideas to show their faults, often by using exaggeration

is about open disrespect rather than satirical critique
to lampoon
vsto make a mockery of
8 7.7

To publicly make fun of a person or group by copying their style

is less about clever satire and more about blunt disrespect
to take potshots at
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
4 8.1

To make quick, unfair critical remarks about someone or their ideas

aims more to show something as worthless rather than only criticise
to make sport of
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
2 7.5

To laugh at someone and say unkind things about them

is more about showing worthlessness rather than simple group amusement
to derogate
vsto make a mockery of
1 8.4

Say or do things that make someone seem less respected

focuses more on outright dismissal and ridicule rather than nuance
to bemock
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
9.9

To make fun of someone in a cruel way

targets worth and respect, not playful or gentle mockery
to make shit of
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
9.9

Say someone's work or ideas are not important and make them feel small

shares contempt but is not necessarily vulgar in expression
to travesty
vsto make a mockery of
8.1

To show something in a silly, unfair way that makes it seem wrong

targets value and respect more directly rather than only distortion
to make game of
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
8.0

Laugh at someone or treat something serious as a joke

focuses on showing lack of respect by reducing value and seriousness
to take the pee out of
vsto make a mockery of
  • Offensive
9.9

Tease someone by making jokes about them

is harsher, showing open disrespect rather than light teasing

How Disrespectful

to deride
26 7.8
to make a mockery of
21 6.7
to mock
  • Offensive
209 3.4
to make fun of
  • Offensive
307 2.3

Surface Forms

make a mockery of infinitive
made a mockery of past
made a mockery of past participle
making a mockery of present participle
makes a mockery of third person singular

Morphology

make + a + mockery + of

The meaning is directly compositional: 'make' (to cause) + 'mockery' (ridicule) with 'of' marking the target, so the phrase literally means to cause something to be ridiculed. This causative + noun pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows normal English syntax, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Make a mockery of comes from the idea of making a 'mock' or joke version of something, like a puppet show that copies a serious event to make people laugh. So when you make a mockery of something, you turn it into a joke and treat it as 'ridiculous' or 'worthless'.