1
as in parodies
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something
the recall of a duly elected official for a frivolous reason is not democracy in action but a farce
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in comedies
humorous entertainment
the rubber-faced, loose-jointed comedian is a master of knockabout farce
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Recent Examples of farces
With sparse amounts of slapstick, this staging isn’t the most physical of farces, though Lutz and Enriquez in particular strike some laugh-out-loud poses.
—
Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Two suburban groups, Plano’s Rover Dramawerks and MainStage Irving-Las Colinas, are opening the new year with farces by prolific British playwrights that are marked by mistaken identity and other comic twists.
—Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026
His air of louche mischief attended his farces about Dada and James Joyce and moral determinism, his cleverness worn as lightly as a scarf.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2025
His movies — farces, fables, experiments — reside in surreal worlds of their own.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Two suburban groups, Plano’s Rover Dramawerks and MainStage Irving-Las Colinas, are opening the new year with farces by prolific British playwrights that are marked by mistaken identity and other comic twists.
—Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026
His air of louche mischief attended his farces about Dada and James Joyce and moral determinism, his cleverness worn as lightly as a scarf.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2025
His movies — farces, fables, experiments — reside in surreal worlds of their own.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for farces
Noun
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Broadway, top-heavy with musical parodies and attention-grabbing revivals, is having a strange season by all accounts.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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While the show featured many of the same characters, its format strayed from the sci-fi space narrative of Spaceballs and instead was a series of parodies, each episode serving as a satirical commentary on several contemporary hits, such as Lord of the Rings, American Idol and Harry Potter.—
Maddie Garfinkle,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The director got his feature start with action comedies, famously directing the Charlie’s Angels movies in the early 2000s.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
1 May 2026
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But only 10 of the operas have been comedies.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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One of his jokes in particular has drawn new attention, given the shooting incident at the dinner on Saturday, forcing the Secret Service to rush the Trumps and other administration officials from the dais and other seats near the stage.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
27 Apr. 2026
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Kimmel delivered the jokes about the first lady at a special version of his show that included his version of a fake monologue for the WHCD.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates divided the lives of men into only four stages, a number that mirrored the four humors and the four elements.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
25 Feb. 2026
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But the humors are acutely sensitive to their surroundings.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The other women in the friends’ lives — primarily their mothers — don’t fare much better and are reduced to near-caricatures.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
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And in mainstream television, Latinos are very often caricatures.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Farces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/farces. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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