The Meaning of Farce: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of farce? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word farce, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What does the word farce mean?

According to the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language as well as other sources like American Heritage and Collins English Dictionary, the word farce can either be used as a verb or a noun. As a verb, this transitive verb means to stuff or to improve or expand upon something like a literary work. As a noun, the word farce can either refer to some savory stuffing or forcemeat, a broad satire or light dramatic composition that contains satirical comedy, ludicrous situations, physical humor, the use of deliberate absurdity, improbable situations, a humorous play, or some ridiculous act or situation. The pronunciation of farce is fɑːs/fɑrs.

Many different languages also contain words that mean farce. As you look at the list of translations of farce from Word Sense you may notice that a lot of these words look and sound similar to the word farce. These are called cognates, which are often formed when two words have the same language of origin or root.

  •  French: farce‎ (fem.)
  •  Mandarin: 鬧劇‎, 滑稽戏, 闹剧‎ (nàojù)
  •  Czech: fraška‎ (fem.)
  •  Nynorsk: farse‎ (masc.)
  •  Bokmål: farse‎ (masc.)
  •  Spanish: farsa‎ (fem.)
  •  Polish: farsa‎ (fem.)
  •  Bulgarian: фарс‎ (masc.)
  •  Japanese: 笑劇‎ (しょうげき, shōgeki), ファルス‎ (farusu):
  •  Romanian: farsă‎ (fem.)
  •  Icelandic: farsi‎ (masc.), skopleikur‎ (masc.), ærlsaleikur‎ (masc.)
  •  Tagalog: tiyaw‎
  •  Dutch: klucht‎ (fem.)
  •  German: Farce‎ (fem.)
  •  Italian: farsa‎ (fem.)
  •  Russian: фарс‎ (masc.)

How can the word farce be used in a sentence?

The word farce can be used in many different sentences in the English language. Using words in a sentence is a great way to memorize their definition. You can also try making quizzes or flashcards for yourself. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today. The word farce can be used in a metaphorical sense or a literal sense – in regularity, it is used as a metaphor and the function of farce rarely refers to the meat itself. Below are several examples of farce. 

The meaningless show in the political arena was mere farce. The sorts of fools speaking were such character stereotypes it felt like an episode of a hidden camera show.

William Shakespeare’s comedy of errors A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a farce that is full of mistaken identity, and a style of humor that contains chaos for humorous effect. This film has been made into many iterations of motion picture that had great success and made the audience laugh.

The first month of labor negotiations was a tragic farce. It seemed that the laborers were making headway, but they were tricked, like telling a blind man he’s on the beach when you’re just blowing a fan in his face.

The promposal was a complete farce, and the young girl was absolutely humiliated. She thought the boy of her dreams liked her back, but really he just wanted to make a mockery of her in front of the whole school.

What is the origin of the word farce?

According to Etymonline, the term farce has been used since the late 14th century to mean force-meat or stuffing. It has been used since the 1520s in the dramatic sense to refer to low comedy or ludicrous satire. This comes from the French word farce, which was a 16th century word that referred to a comic interlude in a mystery play and literally meant stuffing. This comes from the 13th century Old French farcir, a verb meaning to stuff. This comes from the Latin farsus, a variant of fartus. This comes from the past participle of farcīre and the Latin farcire which may come from the Proto-Indo-European root bhrekw meaning to cram together. The pseudo-Latin farsia was applied in 13c in France.

What are synonyms and antonyms of farce?

Many different words also have the same definition as the word farce. These are called synonyms, which are useful to know if you are trying to avoid repeating yourself or if you are trying to expand your English language vocabulary. If you are trying to vary up the words you frequently use in written or spoken English, try replacing the words your use most often with synonyms. This list of synonyms for the word farce is provided by Thesaurus

  •  buffoonery
  •  low camp
  •  mockery
  •  parody
  •  pratfall comedy
  •  travesty
  •  high camp
  •  sham
  •  interlude
  •  ridiculousness
  •  comedy
  •  camp
  •  play
  •  satire
  •  skit
  •  horseplay
  •  slapstick
  •  absurdity
  •  broad comedy
  •  nonsense
  •  mock
  •  burlesque
  •  joke
  •  caricature

There are also plenty of words that have the opposite meaning of the word farce. These opposite words are called antonyms. Antonyms are another quick and easy way to expand your English vocabulary and knowledge of the English language. Once you know the definition of one word and memorize the rest, your vocabulary can grow by leaps and bounds. This list of antonyms for farce is also provided by Thesaurus.

  •  staidness
  •  seriousness
  •  gravity
  •  sedateness
  •  sober-mindedness
  •  earnest
  •  coolness
  •  sternness
  •  thoughtfulness
  •  humorlessness
  •  calmness
  •  sincerity
  •  sobriety
  •  serious-mindedness
  •  earnestness
  •  solemnity
  •  intentness

Overall, the word farce means a genre of comedy or dramatic work. Works of this kind practice the exploitation of improbable situations, and such works contain a ridiculous sham or goofy, witticisms or witty material and unlikely situations. Farce can also refer to farcemeat, a forcemeat stuffing mixture of ground raw chicken or turkey, mushrooms, onions, parsley, lots of butter, and sometimes pistachios made in England. The word farce has been used since Middle English and comes from the Middle French farce, Old French farce, Latin farcīre and Vulgar Latin. 

Sources:

  1. farce: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  2. FARCE Synonyms: 26 Synonyms & Antonyms for FARCE | Thesaurus 
  3. SERIOUSNESS Synonyms: 34 Synonyms & Antonyms for SERIOUSNESS | Thesaurus 
  4. farce | Origin and meaning of farce | Online Etymology Dictionary