Meaning & use
buffoonery
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablehumorous
Silly, clownish behavior meant to make people laugh.
Grammar: Uncountable: a bit of buffoonery, not a buffoonery.
Patterns
- indulge in buffoonery
The children laughed at the clown's buffoonery.
His buffoonery at the party kept everyone entertained.
The film is full of slapstick and gentle buffoonery.
noununcountabledisapproving
Foolish or childish behavior that is out of place in a serious situation.
Grammar: Often critical when used about serious matters like politics.
Patterns
- political buffoonery
The senator's buffoonery during the hearing made headlines.
I expected professionalism, not this buffoonery.
Voters grew tired of the constant buffoonery.
Common combinations
- mere buffoonery
- Critics dismissed the speech as mere buffoonery.
- political buffoonery
- Political buffoonery filled the debate.
- harmless buffoonery
- The jokes were harmless buffoonery.
- descend into buffoonery
- The meeting descended into buffoonery.
- indulge in buffoonery
- He liked to indulge in buffoonery at family dinners.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clowning
- Clowning is lighter and more affectionate, while buffoonery can include a note of scorn.
- foolery
- Foolery suggests silliness in general, but buffoonery stresses a deliberate show of acting the fool.
- tomfoolery
- Tomfoolery is playful mischief, whereas buffoonery implies someone is behaving ridiculously, sometimes to the point of embarrassment.
- slapstick
- Slapstick is a type of physical comedy in performance, but buffoonery can be any foolish act, on stage or not.
Opposites
Word family
- buffoon noun
- a person who behaves in a silly or ridiculous way
- buffoonish adjective
- like a buffoon; silly
- buffoonishly adverb
- in a foolish, clownish manner
Commonly confused: buffoonery or buffet?
buffoonery vs buffet
A buffet is a meal where you serve yourself, or a blow. It sounds somewhat like buffoon but means something quite different.
Practice
The board meeting turned into pure ___ when two directors started throwing paper planes at each other.
Choose one answer.
Buffoonery means silly, clownish behavior that is out of place. Diplomacy, negotiation, and scrutiny describe serious activity.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “buffoonery”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.