Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - caricature

 I. noun  Etymology: Italian caricatura, literally, act of loading, from caricare to load, from Late Latin carricare  Date: 1712  1. exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics  2. a representation especially in literature or art that has the qualities of ~  3. a distortion so gross as to seem like ~  • caricatural adjective  • caricaturist noun Synonyms:  ~, burlesque, parody, travesty mean a comic or grotesque imitation. ~ implies ludicrous exaggeration of the characteristic features of a subject ~s of politicians in cartoons. burlesque implies mockery especially through giving a serious or lofty subject a frivolous treatment a nightclub burlesque of a trial in court. parody applies especially 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.  II. transitive verb  (-tured; -turing)  Date: circa 1771 to make or draw a ~ of ; represent in ~ the portrait ~d its subject