mockery
part of speech
noun (mockery, mockeries)
meaning for a pupil
1) Laughing at someone or something in an unkind way; teasing. tree →
2) Something so bad or unfair that it seems a silly copy of the real thing: the trial was a mockery of justice. tree →
3) make a mockery of: to make something seem stupid or pointless. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: It means scorn and unkind jeering, here by wicked people who mock the psalmist with cruel talk. Interpretation: The psalm is read as the prayer of a righteous person who is attacked by enemies and asks God to defend him. In the primary lessons: In stories, a character faces «mockery» from bullies; in anti-bullying lessons, mockery is a form of unkindness. In news, «a mockery» means something was done so badly it is ridiculous. Phrases: make a mockery of, a mockery of justice, face mockery.
examples
- With the profanest mockeries of backbiting they gnash at me with their teeth. (Writings PSA.35.16, JPS 1917) tree →
- The new boy faced mockery because of his accent. tree →
- Mockery can hurt as much as hitting. tree →
- Cheating makes a mockery of the game. tree →
- The badly run election was a mockery. tree →
- She ignored their mockery and kept dancing. tree →
- His laugh was full of mockery. tree →
- The rules are a mockery if nobody follows them. tree →
note
Mostly uncountable; «a mockery of» is a fixed phrase. Related: mock (verb: to make fun of; noun UK: a practice exam, «mocks»), mocking (adjective).
In the corpora
- With the profanest mockeries of backbiting they gnash at me with their teeth.
- The mockery aims at the unfairness, not the person: "Oh, the invisible sheet.
- The mockery hits the excuse, not the loser: "Your controller works.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «mockery» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.