funny
1 Americanadjective
-
providing fun; causing amusement or laughter; amusing; comical.
a funny remark;
a funny person.
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attempting to amuse; facetious.
Did you really mean that or were you just being funny?
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warranting suspicion; deceitful; underhanded.
We thought there was something funny about those extra charges.
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Informal. insolent; impertinent.
Don't get funny with me, young man!
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curious; strange; peculiar; odd.
Her speech has a funny twang.
noun
plural
funnies-
Informal. a funny remark or story; a joke.
to make a funny.
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funnies,
-
Also called funny paper. the section of a newspaper reserved for comic strips, word games, etc.
noun
plural
funniesadjective
-
causing amusement or laughter; humorous; comical
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peculiar; odd
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suspicious or dubious (esp in the phrase funny business )
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informal faint or ill
to feel funny
noun
Usage
What is a basic definition of funny? Funny describes something that causes fun, especially laughter. Funny can describe someone who is trying to amuse others. It can also describe someone or something that is suspicious or odd. Funny has a few other senses as an adjective and a noun. Funny describes something that is amusing and causes people to laugh. Something that amuses people without causing laughter is usually said to be fun rather than funny. For example, a roller coaster would be called fun, while a knock-knock joke would be called funny. If something is not funny, it is unfunny. Real-life examples: Many people consider clowns, jokes, comedies, pranks, and Internet memes to be funny. These things cause most people to laugh. Used in a sentence: The comedian knew a lot of funny jokes. Funny also describes someone who is trying to get others to laugh or is trying to amuse them. This sense of funny is a synonym of facetious. Used in a sentence: Joan took the comment as an insult even though Luke was just trying to be funny. Funny also describes someone or something that is suspicious or underhanded. You might use this sense when you think something dishonest is going on. The phrase funny business is used in this sense to refer to criminal or unethical activity. Real-life examples: Rigged carnival games, overly friendly salespeople, and deals that seem too good to be true often cause people to think something funny is going on. Used in a sentence: We think something funny is going on at that store on the corner that is never open. Funny can also describe something that is strange, odd, or curious. Real-life examples: If your leg falls asleep, you will probably walk funny. Two tomatoes that grow together to make one tomato might have a funny shape. Used in a sentence: I think the speakers might be broken because the music sounds funny.
Related Words
Funny, laughable, ludicrous refer to that which excites laughter. Funny and laughable are both applied to that which provokes laughter or deserves to be laughed at; funny is a colloquial term loosely applied and in popular use is commonly interchangeable with the other terms: a funny story, scene, joke; a laughable incident, mistake. That which is ludicrous excites laughter by its incongruity and foolish absurdity: The monkey's attempts to imitate the woman were ludicrous.
Other Word Forms
- funnily adverb
- funniness noun
- unfunnily adverb
- unfunniness noun
Etymology
Origin of funny1
First recorded in 1730–40; fun + -y 1
Origin of funny2
First recorded in 1780–90; perhaps jocular use of funny 1
Explanation
Something that is funny is amusing or comical. Comedians make their living being funny. It seems like the adjective funny should describe something fun — but it doesn’t always. A fun rollercoaster ride might make you scream instead of laugh. In fact, funny is also used in the sense of something that is fishy or shady, or just a little odd, like a funny feeling, or a person who seems a little funny, meaning weird. So if someone calls you funny, make sure they are smiling before you thank them for the compliment.
Vocabulary lists containing funny
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“You should have a general sense that, first, you are there to play golf, and it’s funny how people actually lose sight of that for the social aspects or other distractions.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
For a film to be funny without losing its edge — or worse, feeling intentionally edgy — a punchline has to be both smart and unexpected.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
It’s McKellen reveling in a great role: charmingly funny but also bittersweet in the film’s examination of how fading fame can calcify one’s soul.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
"You really have to tap in to what you're feeling and what you're going through, which is difficult, but at the same time it allows you to find the funny side of things," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
She doesn’t know anyone else yet, so she still thinks my puns are funny and my sketchbook is cool.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
