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When disaster strikes, keeping track of which word to use seems pretty unimportant. But you don’t want to describe disastrous events as travesties, because they’re not: they’re tragedies. Travesties are terrible too, but travesty refers specifically to something that is done in a way that makes a mockery of what it’s supposed to be: for example, a contest won by the judge’s spouse could be considered a travesty. And a trial in which the defendant wasn’t allowed to present evidence could be described as a “travesty of justice.” Travesty, which can also function as a verb meaning “to make a travesty of” or “to parody,” comes from the French verb travestir, meaning “to disguise.” Its roots, however, wind back through Italian to the Latin verb vestire, meaning “to clothe” or “to dress.” Other descendants of vestire include vestment, divest, and invest.
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“Travesty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travesty. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.
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