satire
sat·ire/ˈsætaɪɹ/noun
satire is spelled S-A-T-I-R-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (sat·ire). It appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, satire means “A literary device of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change or…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of satire is satires.
How many letters and syllables are in satire?
| Letters | 6: S-A-T-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sat·ire |
| In writing | 4.5 times per million words; the 12,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is satire?
Satire appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce satire?
- US /ˈsætaɪɹ/
- UK /ˈsætaɪə/
Satire has 2 syllables, split sat·ire in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-satire.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of satire
- satires plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does satire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A literary device of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change or highlighting a shortcoming in the work of another. Imitation, humor, irony, and exaggeration are often used to aid this.
Satire deflates and debases. It is an art which topples greatness, undermines pretension and punishes pride by revealing the low in the pretendedly high, the filth in the pure, the folly in reason. This belittling trick deploys telescopic l
- 2
A satirical work.
a stinging satire of American politics.
- 3
datedSeverity of remark.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Satire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense literary technique:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does satire come from?
From Middle French satire, from Old French, from Latin satira, from earlier satura, from lanx satura (“full dish”), from feminine of satur. Altered in Latin by influence of Ancient Greek σάτυρος (sáturos, “satyr”), on the mistaken notion that the form is related to the Greek σατυρικὸν δράμα (saturikòn dráma, “satyr drama”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).