- Definition
A caricature is a drawing or description of someone where their most noticeable features are exaggerated to make them look funny or silly.
A drawing of a person with a famously big smile drawn to take up half their face is a caricature.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: A caricature is like using a funny photo filter on your phone that makes your eyes super big or your chin really long for a silly effect.
Ask your child: If you drew a funny cartoon of me, what feature would you exaggerate?
Common mix-up: Kids might think a caricature is just any cartoon. The key is that it intentionally exaggerates a person's real, unique features to create a funny or critical effect.
Examples
- A political cartoon that draws a leader with an extremely long nose.
- An artist at a fair sketching a person with giant, sparkling eyes and huge hair.
- In a story, describing a character's booming voice as loud enough to rattle windows.
caricature is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
