harlequinade

[ hahr-luh-kwi-neyd, -ki- ]

/ ˌhɑr lə kwɪˈneɪd, -kɪ- /

Save This Word!

noun

a pantomime, farce, or similar play in which Harlequin plays the principal part.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of harlequinade

From the French word arlequinade, dating back to 1770–80. See harlequin, -ade¹

Words nearby harlequinade

Harleian Library, Harlem, Harlemite, Harlem Renaissance, harlequin, harlequinade, harlequin bug, harlequin duck, harlequinesque, harlequin fetus, harlequin opal

How to use harlequinade in a sentence

The curtain rises on a stage set for a Harlequinade, a merry black and white interior.
Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays|Various
One needs no civilised culture to appreciate the fun of the harlequinade, and to that has Charlie, with true instinct, returned.
Adventures and Enthusiasms|E. V. Lucas
But it is the harlequinade accelerated, intensified, toned up for the exacting taste of the great and growing "picture" public.
Adventures and Enthusiasms|E. V. Lucas
Punch still intermittently bewailed the decline of the Harlequinade.
Mr. Punch's History of Modern England Vol. IV of IV.|Charles L. Graves

But—that such talent may not rust, I will place one by your side on whom you can practise your harlequinade follies at pleasure.
Love and Intrigue|Friedrich Schiller

British Dictionary definitions for harlequinade

harlequinade

/ (ˌhɑːlɪkwɪˈneɪd) /

noun

(sometimes capital) theatre a play or part of a pantomime in which harlequin has a leading role

buffoonery

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012