facetious

Advancedzipf 2.51

Pronunciation

/fəˈsiːʃəs/(fuh-SEE-shus)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

滑稽的；（不合时宜地）开玩笑的

Definition

Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; not meant to be taken seriously.

Word family

  • facetiously/fəˈsiːʃəsli/(adv)滑稽地
  • facetiousness/fəˈsiːʃəsnəs/(n)

Collocations

  • facetious remark
  • being facetious
  • facetious tone
  • facetious comment

Examples

  1. 1."Maybe we should just cancel gravity" — he was being facetious. (joking inappropriately)
  2. 2.I hope you're being facetious, because this is a serious matter. (not serious)

Synonyms

  • flippant/ˈflɪpənt/— not showing proper respect
  • tongue-in-cheek— humorous, not meant literally
  • sarcastic/sɑːˈkæstɪk/— mocking, often hurtful

Etymology

from Latin "facetia" = jest, wittiness — making light of things