witty language used to convey insults or scorn
"he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"
"irony is wasted on the stupid"
"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"
A literary device of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. Humor, irony, and exaggeration are often used to aid this.
"Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal serves as a biting satire that uses dark humor and exaggerated logic to ridicule British policy toward the Irish poor while urging immediate reform."
In plain English: Satire is using humor and exaggeration to point out silly or bad things about people, ideas, or society so they get fixed.
"The movie uses humor and irony to expose the flaws in modern politics through sharp satire."
Usage: Avoid using "satire" to describe any humorous content; the term specifically requires a critical intent to expose folly or vice rather than mere amusement. It is also distinct from parody, which imitates style for comic effect without necessarily aiming for social critique.
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").