opéra bouffe

[ op-er-uh -boof, op-ruh; French aw-pey-ra -boof ]

/ ˈɒp ər ə ˈbuf, ˈɒp rə; French ɔ peɪ ra ˈbuf /

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noun, plural o·pé·ra bouffes, o·pé·ras bouffe, French o·pé·ras bouffes

[aw-pey-ra -boof]. /ɔ peɪ ra ˈbuf/.

a comic opera, especially of farcical character.

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Origin of opéra bouffe

Borrowed into English from French around 1865–70

Words nearby opéra bouffe

openwork, open wound, OPer., opera, operable, opéra bouffe, opera buffa, opera cloak, opéra comique, opera glasses, operagoer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use opéra bouffe in a sentence

It was a Senate floor soap opera over none other than a soap-opera producer.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One of the most horrific episodes of the Vietnam War is being made into a government-funded opera.
The My Lai Massacre Inspires an Opera|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One beginning that amused him takes place at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In June, the executive offices of the Metropolitan Opera were broken into and graffitied with obscene messages.
Inside the Metropolitan Opera’s Insane Year|Shawn E. Milnes|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Metropolitan Opera is the old-school Cadillac of arts institutions.
Inside the Metropolitan Opera’s Insane Year|Shawn E. Milnes|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A small contingent of the members hurried off to applaud the successful comic opera of the hour.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
At the present time he was trombone in the “Tournée Gulland,” a touring opera company.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
That you did not steal from her house by a secret passage, on the night of the destruction of the opera-house?
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Certain evenings during the week she and her husband attended the opera or sometimes the play.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Fecit dextera Di virtutem: non est mortuus, sed vixit; & nunc incolumis narrat opera Di.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various

British Dictionary definitions for opéra bouffe

opéra bouffe

/ (ˈɒpərə ˈbuːf, French ɔpera buf) /

noun plural opéras bouffes (French ɔpera buf)

a type of light or satirical opera common in France during the 19th century

Word Origin for opéra bouffe

from French: comic opera

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