facetious

facetious (fəˈsiːʃəs)

—*adj*
1.	characterized by levity of attitude and love of joking: a facetious person
2.	jocular or amusing, esp at inappropriate times: facetious remarks

[C16: from Old French facetieux, from facetie witty saying; see facetiae]

fa'cetiously

—*adv*

fa'cetiousness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

facetious

1590s, from Fr. facétieux, from facétie "a joke," from L. facetia, from facetus "witty, elegant," of unknown origin, perhaps related to facis "torch." It implies a desire to be amusing, often intrusive or ill-timed. "Facetiæ in booksellers' catalogues, is, like curious, a euphemism

for erotica." [Fowler] Related: Facetiously; facetiousness

Example sentences

The first answer to each of this book's questions is facetious.

Respondent testified that he found this repeated phrase irritating and

facetious.

They rustle cattle because the facetious machismo of it appeals to them.

It's a facetious point, but it's also a serious one.

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Matching Quote

"Always polite, fastidiously dressed in a linen duster and mask, he used to leave behind facetious rhymes signed "Black Bart, Po—8," in mail and express boxes after he had finished rifling them."

-for the State of California