To define satire simply: it's humour with a target and a critical point, built from irony, exaggeration, or invented scenarios delivered with total sincerity. Remove the target or the critique, and what's left is just a joke — not satire. For the longer version, see satire definition and examples.
Every genuine piece of satire needs three things: a real target (a person, institution, or behaviour), a critical point about that target, and a comedic technique — usually irony or exaggeration — doing the delivery. See satire techniques for the full toolkit these pieces draw from.
Satire critiques; parody imitates. The two overlap constantly but aren't identical — a piece of pure imitation with no real critical point is parody, not satire. The distinction is covered in full at satire vs parody.
Satire ranges from gentle and affectionate to genuinely savage, depending on the writer's intent toward the target. See types of satire for the full spread, from Horatian warmth to Juvenalian bite.
The definition has held remarkably steady across three centuries even as the format has shifted from pamphlet to periodical to digital mock-news. See the history of British satire for that full arc.
Reading working satire is the fastest way to see the definition in action rather than just memorise it. The Poke and NewsThump both publish frequently enough to serve as a constant, current test case.
Satire, defined properly, is criticism doing its job while wearing a joke's clothes.
SOURCE: The London Prat