buffoonery
Americannoun
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amusement by means of usually physical or visual tricks, jokes, etc..
The play swings from absurd buffoonery to high tragedy, with kinetic physicality, silliness, swords, and live music.
-
coarse or undignified joking.
The managers perceived my buffoonery as a barely concealed way of calling them pretentious—and they weren’t altogether wrong.
-
silly, foolish, or unseemly behavior.
It’s hard to top the current governor's race if you like your politics laced with outrageous buffoonery.
Etymology
Origin of buffoonery
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.
There are early signs of buffoonery involving a maternal wig.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025
His mixture of insult, ressentiment, and buffoonery is a work of genius.
From Salon • Feb. 27, 2025
“The notion that Cromitie was selected as a ‘leader’ by the co-defendants is inconceivable, given his well-documented buffoonery and ineptitude,” she wrote.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 20, 2024
All told, the 60-page document features plenty of conspiracy and buffoonery both.
From Slate • Jul. 27, 2023
Marred as a whole by buffoonery and excess, the play is still among the two or three best tragedies of the Restoration.
From Tragedy by Thorndike, Ashley H.
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.
