buffoonery

[buh-foo-nuh-ree]

noun

1. 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.

2. coarse or undignified joking.

   The managers perceived my buffoonery as a barely concealed way of calling them pretentious—and they weren’t altogether wrong.

3. silly, foolish, or unseemly behavior.

   It’s hard to top the current governor's race if you like your politics laced with outrageous buffoonery.

Word History and Origins

Origin of buffoonery¹

buffoon ( def. ) + -ery ( def. )

Example Sentences

Scenes like that don’t strike fear in anyone; they just expose the buffoonery behind the bravura.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Born and raised in an affluent suburb of Washington, D.C., his younger years were plagued with what he called “complete buffoonery” — street fights, misplaced aggression and behavior that resulted in multiple arrests.

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There are early signs of buffoonery involving a maternal wig.

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His mixture of insult, ressentiment, and buffoonery is a work of genius.

Read more on Salon

There are no gilded gates here, but there is one heck of a party, complete with serenading busts, ballroom dancers, excitable opera singers, drunken buffoonery and portraits locked in an endless duel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• caricature 
• contempt 
• derision 
• disdain 
• jeer 
• laughter 
• mockery 
• parody 
• sarcasm 
• satire 
• scorn 
• taunt 
• taunting