Factious vs facetious

Photo of author

Grammarist

Grammarist

Factious is an adjective describing something or someone has having to do with factions, or separate groups within a larger body, usually separated by a belief or proclivity. It has derivatives of factiously and factiousness, though these are rarely used.

It is pronounced \ˈfak-shÉ™s\ (fact shish).

Facetious, on the other hand, is a word to describe something or someone as intentionally funny, though usually failing to attain humor or inappropriate. It also has two derivatives of facetiously and facetiousness.

It is pronounced \fÉ™-ˈsÄ“-shÉ™s\ (fah see shish).

Examples

In summary, Gowon, as a result of his inept and incompetent leadership, deceived and misled Nigeria into a senseless war through demagoguery, thereby, exacerbating and widening the factious and volatile situation in Nigeria. [Sun News Online]

While these remarks – for and contrary – cannot be questioned, it’s nonetheless interesting to note how one player’s attributes have raised continually factious opinion-making. [Tennis World USA]

Despite best efforts of an experienced, talented and hard-working cast, the strained and facetious piece, driven by slapstick and bed-hopping, was not entirely to my taste, although the opening-night audience of family and friends seemed more tolerant. [The Telegram]

So, logically, and I’m being facetious here, I created a bake sale assignment for girls. [Huffington Post]

”Wow, do you feel the excitement in the room?” he asked facetiously, eliciting the first real laughter of the night from an otherwise restrained audience. [SF Gate]

That’s how ill-conceived this laborious venture is, veering between arthouse solemnity and strident facetiousness. [The Guardian]