travesty (of something)something that does not have the qualities or values that it should have, and as a result is often shocking or offensivesynonymparodyThe trial was a travesty of justice.His claim is a travesty of the facts.a travesty of a marriageWord Originmid 17th cent. (as an adjective in the sense ‘dressed to appear ridiculous’): from French travesti ‘disguised’, past participle of travestir, from Italian travestire, from trans- ‘across’ + vestire ‘clothe’.
See travesty in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
