facetious
Americanadjective
-
not meant to be taken seriously or literally.
a facetious remark.
-
amusing; humorous.
-
lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous.
a facetious person.
adjective
-
characterized by levity of attitude and love of joking
a facetious person
-
jocular or amusing, esp at inappropriate times
facetious remarks
Usage
A term labeled Facetious in this dictionary is one that is used consciously for humorous or playful effect.
Related Words
See humorous 1.
Other Word Forms
- facetiously adverb
- facetiousness noun
- nonfacetious adjective
- nonfacetiously adverb
- nonfacetiousness noun
- unfacetious adjective
- unfacetiously adverb
- unfacetiousness noun
Etymology
Origin of facetious
First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French facecieux, facetieux, from facetie “a jest,” from Latin facētia “a jest, witticism” ( facetiae ) + -ious
Compare meaning
How does facetious compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With such a heavy subject matter, Clunes says he deals with it by being a "little facetious", despite taking his work seriously.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
Beginning with 1972’s “The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie,” Flo & Eddie released a series of increasingly facetious albums throughout the 1970s, but they had greater success singing harmonies for T. Rex and Cooper.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2025
Bong walks a delicate line between being facetious and pulling his punches, and the script does sometimes fall to the latter side with some of its more trite resistance messaging.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2025
“I don’t mean to be facetious or disrespectful or a burden to the court,” he told the judge at the time.
From Seattle Times • May 12, 2023
Also, I know I was being facetious about that whole musk thistle thing, but hiking with them does sound fun.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
