SuaviloquyToday’s word

mockery

Mockery, n.; pl. Mockeries.

Etymology: [F. moquerie.]

1. The act of mocking, deriding, and exposing to contempt, by mimicry, by insincere imitation, or by a false show of earnestness; a counterfeit appearance. It is, as the air, invulnerable, And our vain blows malicious mockery. Shak. Grace at meals is now generally so performed as to look more like a mockery upon devotion than any solemn application of the mind to God. Law. And bear about the mockery of woe. Pope.

2. Insulting or contemptuous action or speech; contemptuous merriment; derision; ridicule. The laughingstock of fortune's mockeries. Spenser.

3. Subject of laughter, derision, or sport. The cruel handling of the city whereof they made a mockery. 2 Macc. viii. 17.

Shades of meaning

Fernald has no entry of its own for mockery; he lists it under banter.

Where he writes about it:

Mockery is more studied, and may include mimicry and personal violence, as well as scornful speech. — from banter