[car.i.ca.ture] n [It caricatura, lit., act of loading, fr. caricare to load, fr. LL carricare] (1712) 1: exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics
2: a representation esp. in literature or art that has the qualities of caricature
3: a distortion so gross as to seem like caricature -- car.i.ca.tur.al adj -- car.i.ca.tur.ist n syn caricature, burlesque, parody, travesty mean a comic or grotesque imitation. caricature implies ludicrous exaggeration of the characteristic features of a subject "caricatures of politicians in cartoons". burlesque implies mockery esp. through giving a serious or lofty subject a frivolous treatment "a nightclub burlesque of a trial in court". parody applies esp. to treatment of a trivial or ludicrous subject in the exactly imitated style of a well-known author or work "a witty parody of a popular novel". travesty implies that the subject remains unchanged but that the style is extravagant or absurd "this production is a travesty of the opera".
[2]caricature vt -tured ; -tur.ing (ca. 1771): to make or draw a caricature of: represent in caricature "the portrait caricatured its subject"