facetious

adjective

fa·​ce·​tious fə-ˈsē-shəs 

: joking or sarcastic especially in a way regarded by others as silly, annoying, or inappropriate

a facetious remark

replied in a facetious tone

… a … possibly facetious suggestion that Texas should secede if Washington doesn't ease off …

—Todd J. Gillman

Well, he's a lawyer, so he must be right—because lawyers know everything. Of course, I'm being facetious.

—Ryan Poliakoff

With such a deadpan delivery, it's hard to tell if he's being brutally honest or a little facetious.

—Justin Criado

Not to be facetious, but the best way to deal with a budget … is not to spend more money than what you bring in.

—Dennis Mederos, quoted in Visalia (California) Times-Delta

facetiously adverb

facetiousness noun

Frequently Asked Questions

Is facetious insulting?

It is not inherently insulting to say that someone is being facetious (although it may imply dubious or ill-timed attempts at wit or humor). The word comes from the Latin facetia, meaning "jest."

What is the difference between facetious and sarcastic?

Facetious may be defined as "joking or jesting often inappropriately" or "not serious." Sarcastic, on the other hand, while still concerned with humor, tends to imply a more caustic or biting quality that is often intended to cause pain.

Is facetious the same as facetiousness?

Facetious is an adjective ("not serious," "waggish"), while facetiousness is a noun ("the state or quality of being facetious"). The adverb form is facetiously.

Synonyms of facetious

• witty
• humorous
• clever

Choose the Right Synonym for facetious

witty, humorous, facetious, jocular, jocose mean provoking or intended to provoke laughter.

witty suggests cleverness and quickness of mind.

a witty remark

humorous applies broadly to anything that evokes usually genial laughter and may contrast with witty in suggesting whimsicality or eccentricity.

humorous anecdotes

facetious stresses a desire to produce laughter and may be derogatory in implying dubious or ill-timed attempts at wit or humor.

facetious comments

jocular implies a usually habitual fondness for jesting and joking.

a jocular fellow

jocose is somewhat less derogatory than facetious in suggesting habitual waggishness or playfulness.

jocose proposals

Examples of facetious in a Sentence

The portrait is good, the prose embroidered here with the facetious parlance—is that the word?—of clubs. —V. S. Pritchett, "Club and Country," 1949, in A Man of Letters,  1985

Nor was Liebling seriously asserting that his facetious bit of investigation into Tin Pan Alley history constituted a refutation of Sartre's philosophy. —Raymond Sokolov, Wayward Reporter, 1980

… old ladies shrivelling to nothing in a forest of flowers and giant facetious get-well cards … —John Updike, Trust Me, 1962

the essay is a facetious commentary on the absurdity of war as a solution for international disputes

a facetious and tasteless remark about people in famine-stricken countries being spared the problem of overeating

Recent Examples on the Web

Huff had one quarterback pressure Sunday (being facetious). —Matt Barrows, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025

This sounds facetious but is not at all. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2025

To be facetious, how many of those people who committed mass murder in the fifth largest city in America went to death row? —Dave Zirin, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025

At first, Yellow Face offers a facetious and overly complicated panorama, shuffling Daniel Dae Kim’s glibly intellectual DHH and Francis Jue’s heartfelt HYH among the Asian, black, and white supporting actors who portray various egotistic New York professionals. —Armond White, National Review, 21 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French facetieux, facecieux, from facetie "joke, jesting remark" (borrowed from Latin facētia, facētiae "cleverness, wit," in plural sense, "amusing things, jests") + -eux (going back to Latin -ōsus -ous) — more at facetiae

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for facetious

• dioecious
• specious

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

facetious

adjective

fa·​ce·​tious fə-ˈsē-shəs 

1

: joking or kidding often inappropriately

just being facetious

2

: meant to be funny : not serious

a facetious remark

facetiously adverb

facetiousness noun