farce

American  

[fahrs] / fɑrs /

noun

farces plural

1. a light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon a skillfully exploited situation rather than upon the development of character.

2. humor of the type displayed in such works.

3. foolish show; mockery; a ridiculous sham.

   Synonyms:

   travesty, burlesque

4. Cooking. forcemeat.

---

verb (used with object)

farced, farcing

1. to season (a speech or composition), especially with witty material.

2. Obsolete. to stuff; cram.

farce British  

/ fɑːs /

noun

1. a broadly humorous play based on the exploitation of improbable situations

2. the genre of comedy represented by works of this kind

3. a ludicrous situation or action

4. Also: farcemeat.  another name for forcemeat

---

verb

1. to enliven (a speech, etc) with jokes

2. to stuff (meat, fowl, etc) with forcemeat

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unfarced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• farces
  plural

Etymology

Origin of farce

First recorded in 1300–50; (for the noun) Middle English fars “stuffing,” from Middle French farce, from Vulgar Latin farsa (unrecorded), noun use of feminine of Latin farsus, earlier fartus “stuffed,” past participle of farcīre “to stuff”; (for the verb) Middle English farsen, from Old French farcir, from Latin farcīre

Explanation

A farce is a broad satire or comedy, though now it's used to describe something that is supposed to be serious but has turned ridiculous. If a defendant is not treated fairly, his lawyer might say that the trial is a farce. As a type of comedy, a farce uses improbable situations, physical humor and silliness to entertain. Spoof films such as "Spaceballs," a comedy based on the Star Wars movies, are farces. If a real-life event or situation is a farce, it feels this ridiculous. An election is a farce, if the outcome has been determined before the voting begins. And class can feel like a farce if your substitute teacher knows less about the subject than you do.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

farce farces farced farcing

These lapses and dead spots matter because the movie is a farce that depends on keeping its momentum; instead, it has a stop-start quality.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

BBC Sport pundit Micah Richards, a former England defender, said it was a farce.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

It’s a farce — a French farce, literally, and stylistically, a la Feydeau, with characters appearing and disappearing, changing costumes and identities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

It might be the most American thing ever that we needed to experience the epiphany twice — with equal doses of tragedy and farce on both occasions — before we began to grasp its message.

From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026

“My cousin cuts to the bone, as ever. Do you have any more to say to me, Onion Knight, or can we put an end to this mummer’s farce? I grow weary of your face.”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Do we really want to incentivize vigilantes like YouTube copycat Skeet Hansen, seen in the documentary machinating and uploading his own stakeouts, pitiful farces of justice with the catchphrase “You’ve just been Skeeted”?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025

These actors sparked off each other, in fast-moving farces or quieter character moments.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2023

In such moments, “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” begins to achieve the dizzying liftoff of the best backstage farces, like Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2023

As viewers of those farces might expect, “Champions” attempts to elicit laughs with vomit, flatulence and body odor.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2023

They act farces well enough; the actors comprehend their parts and do them justice.

From Charlotte Bront? A Monograph by Reid, T. Wemyss

You may make a Sauce to these farced Fowls with stew'd Mushrooms toss'd up with Cream; the same may be done with Turkeys, Pheasants, &c.

From The Country Housewife and Lady's Director in the Management of a House, and the Delights and Profits of a Farm by Bradley, Richard

Cabbage, farced 104 Calf’s-head ib. ——, like turtle ib. ——, to hash 105 ——, fricassee 106 ——, to pickle ib. —— liver 107 Cauliflowers with white sauce ib.

From The Lady's Own Cookery Book, and New Dinner-Table Directory; In Which will Be Found a Large Collection of Original Receipts. 3rd ed. by Bury, Charlotte Campbell, Lady

The word forced should be read farced, the letter o having evidently dropped down into a box.

From Literary Blunders by Wheatley, Henry Benjamin

These may also be stew'd, farced, baked, or put in Soups, or used in Fricassees.

From The Country Housewife and Lady's Director in the Management of a House, and the Delights and Profits of a Farm by Bradley, Richard

The Dublin Troper of the thirteenth century has a number of farced Kyries and Glorias, also a collection of Sequences.

From The Glories of Ireland by Lennox, P. J.

To many, the daring experiment of farcing what was obviously written as a farce, instead of playing it in the more usual " Oh Lord, here's a classic!" manner, seemed highly successful.

From Time Magazine Archive

To rost Shoulder or Fillet of Veal with farcing herbs.

From The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet Stored with all manner of rare receipts for preserving, candying and cookery. Very pleasant and beneficial to all ingenious persons of the female sex by Wolley, Hannah

I have; and if I’m to die respected and honored, if my family is to have any regard for my memory, I’ve got to get out of farcing.

From The Dreamers A Club by Bangs, John Kendrick

Related Words

• absurdity
• burlesque
• caricature
• comedy
• joke
• mockery
• parody
• sham
• skit
• slapstick
• travesty