26984 words

burlesque

5 definitions • 9 examples
1
a type of writing or acting that tries to make something serious seem stupid and funny:

Examples:

The dance scene is in part a burlesque of Bollywood films.
The political burlesques are not very hard-hitting and rather bland.
The comedy is subtle and nuanced; it never tips over into burlesque.
2
a type of theatre entertainment in the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that had funny acts and a striptease (= a performance in which someone removes their clothes):

Examples:

He worked for many years in vaudeville and burlesque.
They describe the show as an old-fashioned musical burlesque.
3
a modern type of entertainment that includes dancing and striptease (= a performer removing their clothes):

Examples:

Naked dancing has become accepted as a form of arty entertainment in the growing fashion for burlesque.
4
relating to or in the style of burlesque entertainment:

Examples:

I really like performing, and I wanted to do something burlesque and a little gaudy.
He worked in night clubs as a burlesque acrobat.
5
showing or writing about something serious in a way that tries to make it seem stupid and funny:

Examples:

The piece she wrote was a burlesque treatment of a religious sermon.

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