Criticism of people, customs, or institutions through ridicule, exaggeration, or irony.
In Demons
I ordered that a little while ago, just after they left, murmured Stepan Trofimovich, looking at me craftily, quand on a de ces choses-là dans sa chambre et qu'on vient vous arrêter, that makes an impression, and they will have to report that they saw.
The liberal professor explains the lamp "craftily," certain that the policemen "will have to report that they saw" the icon. The ridicule lies in turning devotion into a means of defense, and the text shows this without needing to condemn it.