Meanings
plural operas bouffes · alternative opéra bouffe
- attributivecountableoftenuncountableA type of French comic opera, typified by everyday characters and ludicrous situations.First known use 19th c.
He sang solos from "La Grande Duchesse," and many other opera-bouffe songs, with great taste and verve.
1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 1441 more example
There was one moment of opéra bouffe when the plump Biaggi and two other plotters were trapped in an antique Parisian lift between floors on the way to a top-level and secret meeting.
1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 176
Synonyms & antonyms
nounopera with a happy ending and in which some of the text is spoken
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchopéra bouffe
- Englishopera bouffe
From French opéra bouffe.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
opera bouffe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opera%20bouffe
“opera bouffe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opera%20bouffe. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “opera bouffe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opera%20bouffe.
Source: opera bouffe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.