facetious

IPA/fəˈsiːʃəs/
KK[fəsˈiʃəs]IPA/fəˈsiːʃəs/

facetious — adjective

  • facetiouspositive
  • more facetiouscomparative
  • most facetioussuperlative

1. said or done as a joke about a serious matter, in a way that other people may fi

1.形容詞C2
釋義

said or done as a joke about a serious matter, in a way that other people may find annoying or unsuitable because they feel the subject deserves more respect

例句

Diego's facetious remark about the budget cuts made his colleagues uncomfortable.

attributive: facetious remark / comment + noun

The topic was important, so Anthony avoided being facetious during the meeting.

predicative: be facetious

同義詞
  • flippant

    Stronger disapproval — suggests the speaker does not care at all, while facetious is more about misplaced humour

  • tongue-in-cheek

    Milder and usually playful without the negative judgement that facetious carries

  • witty

    Purely positive — praise for clever humour, whereas facetious is often used critically

反義詞
  • serious

    Straightforward opposite — treats the topic with appropriate gravity

  • solemn

    Implies a heavier, more formal seriousness than just the absence of humour

文法句型

facetious + noun

be + facetious

be + facetious + about + noun

用法筆記

Often used before nouns such as 'remark', 'comment', or 'tone'. In predicative position it commonly takes a prepositional phrase with 'about' to specify the topic.

常見錯誤

❌His facetious remark about the terrible accident showed he did not care.
✅His flippant remark about the terrible accident showed he did not care.
💡'Flippant' is stronger and implies a lack of respect; 'facetious' is about joking with a serious subject, not necessarily about not caring.
❌She was being facetious when she said the opposite of what she meant.
✅She was being ironic when she said the opposite of what she meant.
💡'Irony' involves saying the opposite of what you mean; 'facetious' involves joking about something serious, regardless of whether the literal meaning is the opposite.