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Definition of 'facetious'

Word Frequency

facetious

(fəsiːʃəs )
adjective
If you say that someone is being facetious, you are criticizing them because they are making humorous remarks or saying things that they do not mean in a situation where they ought to be serious.
[disapproval]
The woman eyed him coldly. 'Don't be facetious,' she said.
Synonyms: flippant, funny, amusing, witty   More Synonyms of facetious
facetiously   graded adverb [ADVERB with verb]
Al facetiously described himself as the Last Angry Man.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency

facetious in British

(fəˈsiːʃəs )
adjective
1. 
characterized by levity of attitude and love of joking
a facetious person
2. 
jocular or amusing, esp at inappropriate times
facetious remarks
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
facetiously (faˈcetiously)
  adverb
facetiousness (faˈcetiousness)
  noun
Word origin of 'facetious'
C16: from Old French facetieux, from facetie witty saying; see facetiae
Word Frequency

facetious in American

(fəˈsiʃəs ; fəsēˈshəs)
adjective
joking or trying to be jocular, esp. at an inappropriate time
SIMILAR WORDS:  ˈwitty
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
facetiously (faˈcetiously)
  adverb
facetiousness (faˈcetiousness)
  noun
Word origin of 'facetious'
Fr facétieux < L facetia: see facetiae & -ous

Example sentences containing 'facetious'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
Neil was suspicious of the old pilot's facetious tone, sensing that some elaborate practical joke was about to unfold. Ballard, J. G. RUSHING TO PARADISE (1999)Five vowels in the right order occurred in the word ` facetious ". Aird, Catherine A DEAD LIBERTY (1999)
To his credit, he didn't even try to answer any of my facetious questions. Patricia Gaffney THE SAVING GRACES (1999)

Trends of 'facetious'

Used Occasionally. facetious is one of the 30000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

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Nearby words of 'facetious'

  • facetely
  • facetiae
  • FaceTime
  • facetious
  • facetted
  • facetting
  • faceup

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'F'

Source

Definition of facetious from the Collins English Dictionary

The declarative

The declarative is used to make statements. A statement is usually the expression of a fact or of an opinion. Statements can be both positive or negative. Kate is not working after all. Tim wasn’t ...
Read more about 'The declarative'
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Scrabble score for 'facetious': 14
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