facetiousness

Definitions

The quality of treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor.

A flippant or playfully jocular manner of speaking or behaving.

Examples

The professor struggled to maintain a serious tone in his lecture due to the constant facetiousness of the students in the back row.

While his facetiousness was often intended to lighten the mood, it frequently backfired during the formal board meeting.

Synonyms

flippancy levity jocularity waggishness drollery irreverence banter

Antonyms

seriousness gravity solemnity earnestness sobriety sincerity staidness