travesty
trav·es·ty/ˈtɹæv.ɪs.ti/noun, verb
travesty is spelled T-R-A-V-E-S-T-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables (trav·es·ty). It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “tragedy vs travesty” about 1,900 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, travesty means “An absurd, grotesque, misrepresentative or grossly inferior likeness or imitation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of travesty is travesties.
How many letters and syllables are in travesty?
| Letters | 8: T-R-A-V-E-S-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: trav·es·ty |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is travesty?
Travesty appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th 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 travesty?
- /ˈtɹæv.ɪs.ti/
- /ˈtɹæv.əs.ti/
Travesty has 3 syllables, split trav·es·ty in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-travesty.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with travesty
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of travesty
- travesties plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- travestying participle, present
- travestied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does travesty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An absurd, grotesque, misrepresentative or grossly inferior likeness or imitation.
A battlefield trial is a travesty of justice.
- 2
A pastiche, parody, or stylistic imitation; a burlesque literary or artistic imitation (typically of a more serious work).
- 3
proscribedAn appalling event, situation or outcome (especially in relation to another outcome to which it is grossly inferior).
verb
- 1
To make a travesty of; to parody.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Travesty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Zerrbild , Farce, lächerliche Karikatur, Travestie , armselige Karikatur |
| Spanish | tergiversación absurda / grotesca , imitación (pésima) |
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 travesty come from?
From French travesti (“disguised, burlesqued”), past participle of travestir (“to disguise”), borrowed from Italian travestire (“to dress up, disguise”), from tra- (“across”) + vestire (“to dress”), from Latin vestiō (“to clothe, dress”), from Proto-Italic *westis (“clothing”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéstis (“dressing”) from verbal root *wes- (“to dress, clothe”); cognate to English wear. Doublet of travesti.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).