I looked up the two words on wikitionary & got this:
A literary technique of writing or art
which principally ridicules its
subject often as an intended means of
provoking or preventing change. Humour
is often used to aid this.
A form of humor that is marked by
bitter mockery, often using irony, and
sometimes conveyed in speech with
vocal over-emphasis. With irony, it is
insincerely saying something positive
which is obviously the opposite of
one's intended, cruel meaning. On the
other hand it may be a direct taunt
where the jibe means exactly what it
says.
At first glance, they seem equivalent to me. Is there a clear distinction about when to use one & when to use the other?
Answer
Satire is usually prepared and lengthy. For example, the fake news site The Onion is satire because its staff members carefully prepare each article to make fun of a particular subject.
On the other hand, sarcasm is usually off-the-cuff and short. For example, if while watching a news broadcast about the war in Afghanistan, I remark "The war is going great! We've managed to kill a million civilians!", that would be sarcasm because I haven't prepared it and I'm making fun of the uselessness of the Pentagon.
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