farcical

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɑː(ɹ)sɪkəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From farce ‎ -ical, after comical etc.

Adjective

farcical (comparative more farcical, superlative most farcical)

1. Resembling a farce; ludicrous; absurd.
   • 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea's Bluff.”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     A closer look at North Korean history reveals what Pyongyang’s leaders really want their near-farcical belligerence to achieve — a reminder to the world that North Korea exists, and an impression abroad that its leaders are irrational and unpredictable.

   • 2017 January 14, “Thailand's new king rejects the army's proposed constitution”, in The Economist‎^[2]:

     In August the generals won approval for the document in a referendum made farcical by a law which forbade campaigners from criticising the text.

   • 2022 January 13, Rajeev Syal et al., “No 10 party inquiry will reveal ‘farcical’ culture, say Whitehall sources”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     An inquiry into lockdown parties in Downing Street, which could determine the fate of Boris Johnson, is expected to lay bare a “farcical” culture of drinking and impromptu socialising, with little oversight from senior officials, the Guardian understands.

Related terms

• farce
• tragicofarcical

Translations

absurd

• Dutch: bespottelijk (nl), lachwekkend (nl), kluchtig (nl), belachelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: ridinda
• Finnish: farssimainen, järjetön (fi)
• French: ridicule (fr), risible (fr), farfelu (fr), burlesque (fr), grotesque (fr)
• German: grotesk (de), irrwitzig (de), aberwitzig (de), absurd (de)
• Icelandic: fáránlegur; farsakenndur m, farsakennd n, farsakennt n; fjarstæðukenndur
• Latin: mimicus
• Polish: farsowy
• Romanian: caraghios (ro), absurd (ro), burlesc (ro), grotesc (ro)
• Russian: фарсовый (ru) (farsovyj)
• Spanish: farsesco
• Swedish: farsartad (sv)
• Tagalog: matiyaw

Etymology 2

From farcy ‎ -ical.

Adjective

farcical (not comparable)

1. (veterinary medicine, obsolete, rare) Pertaining to farcy.

Further reading

• “farcical”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “farcical”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “farcical”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.