Definitions of Comic

Synonyms: comic strip, cartoon, comic book, funny.

Definitions of Comic

Synonyms

• humorous, funny, droll, amusing, hilarious, uproarious, comical, farcical, silly, slapstick, zany, witty, jocular, priceless, side-splitting, rib-tickling, killing
• risible, funny, laughable, comical, amusing, mirthful

noun

• comedian, comedienne, funny man/woman, humorist, wit, joker, clown, kidder, wisecracker
• comic strip, cartoon, comic book, funny
• comedian

Examples

• But I did arrive at a point in my life where I realized I would not be a huge stand-up comic.
• This cheapens and degrades the movie and insults the current style of the comic franchise.
• These elements, coupled with some spot-on comic timing are side-splitting to behold.
• It may have been written in a comic style, but it’s hardly the barrel of laughs the reviewers make it out to be.
• There seems to be an unwritten law that football songs should be comic or humorous, or at least not too serious.

Word Origin and History

adj.

late 14c., “of comedy in the dramatic sense,” from Latin comicus “of comedy, represented in comedy, in comic style,” from Greek komikos “of or pertaining to comedy,” from komos. Meaning “intentionally funny” first recorded 1791, and comedic (the 1630s) has since picked up the older sense of the word.

Speaking of the masters of the comedic spirit (if I call it, as he does, the Comic Spirit, this darkened generation will suppose me to refer to the animal spirits of tomfools and merryandrews) …. [G.B. Shaw, 1897]

Something that is comic has comedy as its aim or origin; something is comical if the effect is comedy, whether intended or not.

n.

“a comedian” is from the 1580s, from comic (adj.). Latin adjective comicus also meant “a comic poet, writer of comedies.” Meaning “a comic book or comic strip” is from 1889 ( Comic strip first attested 1920; comic book is from 1941). Comic relief is attested from 1825.