n.1 the use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm, etc., to expose folly or vice or to lampoon an individual.
2 a work or composition in prose or verse using satire.
3 this branch of literature.
4 a thing that brings ridicule upon something else.
5 Rom. Antiq. a poetic medley, esp. a poem ridiculing prevalent vices or follies.
Etymology: F satire or L satira later form of satura medley