farces

noun

plural of farce
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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2
as in comedies
humorous entertainment the rubber-faced, loose-jointed comedian is a master of knockabout farce

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for farces
  1. parodies
  2. comedies
  3. jokes
  4. humors
  5. caricatures
Noun
  • The five stars teased the project with parodies of their characters in a promo video.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The name of the collection parodies the seriousness of the museum, even as the collection itself is the kind of thing that has traditionally gotten scant attention within actual institutions.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of parodies
Noun
  • At a moment when historically reliable sources of employment for mid-career comedians—writing for sitcoms and late night, supporting roles in film comedies, commercials—all seem to be in crisis, the podcast business is comparatively lucrative.
    — Dan Brooks, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The show was one of just two comedies that NBC picked up for the 2026-2027 broadcast season.
    — Joe Otterson, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of comedies
Noun
  • First, of course, there’s the business impact — the loss of authorship, credit, and revenue from accounts farming their jokes for clicks and a quick buck.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Before there is comedy or jokes, the audience must care about the characters.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of jokes
Noun
  • All that guessing will create herding and noise trading as the crowd chases the crowd like a dog chases its tail, in a futile attempt to get ahead of the next unpredictable change in what humors the Big Player.
    — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026
  • European colonists commonly believed that the balance of humors – yellow and black biles, blood and phlegm – circulating through one’s body was important for health.
    — Katherine Ott, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Definition of humors
Noun
  • But Iñárritu’s caricatures become people in a way Kubrick’s don’t; as the bewildered President, for example, John Goodman is simultaneously grounded and theatrical in his presentation, recalling his best work with the Coen brothers.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Instead of digging into the details of personality and circumstance — this school has a specific class for Shakespeare and also English teachers who are literature-hating caricatures?
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of caricatures

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Cite this Entry

“Farces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/farces. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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