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v. mocked, mock·ing, mocks v.tr. 1. a. To treat with ridicule or contempt; deride: was mocked for contradicting himself; mocked her superficial understanding of the issues. See Synonyms at ridicule. b. To imitate in fun or derision: mocked his high-pitched voice. c. To mimic or resemble closely: a whistle that mocks the call of seabirds. 2. a. To frustrate the hopes or intentions of: "The massive blister mocked my efforts" (Willie Morris). b. To cause to appear irrelevant, ineffectual, or impossible: "The Depression mocked the Puritan assumption that failure in life was the wages of sin when even the hardest-working, most pious husbands began to lose hope" (Walter McDougall). v.intr. To express scorn or ridicule; jeer: They mocked at the idea. n. 1. The act of mocking. 2. An object of scorn or derision: became the mock of his associates. adj. Simulated; false; sham: a mock battle. adv. Idiom: In an insincere or pretending manner: mock sorrowful. make/a mock of To subject to ridicule; mock. [Middle English mokken, from Old French mocquer.] mocker n. mocking·ly adv. |
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