facetious

American  

[fuh-see-shuhs] / fəˈsi ʃəs /

adjective

1. not meant to be taken seriously or literally.

   a facetious remark.

2. amusing; humorous.

3. lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous.

   a facetious person.

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facetious 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

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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:

• facetious vs. sarcastic

Example Sentences

Though many of those “Chuck Norris Facts” were facetious and mocking, there were just as many that served as unironic celebrations of the man.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

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

D’Aquino’s defense: She had been slyly subverting the propaganda machine the whole time, entertaining Americans with facetious language no one could take seriously and introducing upbeat American music the GIs actually loved.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 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

French composers of the melodramatic grand opera school -Jules Massenet and Charles Gounod, for example - were just as much a target for his often facetious pen.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall