Definition of "mockery" []

• Scornfully contemptuous ridicule; derision. (noun)
• A specific act of ridicule or derision. (noun)
• An object of scorn or ridicule: made a mockery of the rules. (noun)
• A false, derisive, or impudent imitation: The trial was a mockery of justice. (noun)
• Something ludicrously futile or unsuitable: The few packages of food seemed a mockery in the face of such enormous destitution. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Unlike Colbert, who more fully understands what the term mockery means than anyone I've watched in recent memory."
• "However, unless the mockery is part of something like a SNL sketch, I think there are more respectful ways of discussing differring religious views. datingjesus"
• "O! what a miserable night I passed! the cold stars shone in mockery, and the bare trees waved their branches above me: now and then the sweet voice of a bird burst forth amidst the universal stillness."