comic
Americanadjective
noun
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a comedian.
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comics, comic strips.
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the comic, the element or quality of comedy in literature, art, drama, etc..
An appreciation of the comic came naturally to her.
adjective
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of, relating to, characterized by, or characteristic of comedy
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(prenominal) acting in, writing, or composing comedy
a comic writer
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humorous; funny
noun
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a person who is comic, esp a comic actor; comedian
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a book or magazine containing comic strips
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(usually plural) comic strips in newspapers, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of comic
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cōmicus < Greek kōmikós, equivalent to kôm ( os ) a revel + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Comic things have something to do with silliness, like the comic section in the newspaper or a comic scene in your favorite funny movie. Someone who tells jokes professionally is also a comic. If you want to be a comic, you're going to need to come up with a lot of comic material, jokes and stories that make people laugh. If standing up in front of a crowd isn't your thing, but you still want to tell funny tales, you might try drawing a comic strip instead! Comic goes back to the Greek kōmōidia, "amusing spectacle," and its roots, meaning "merrymaking" and "singer or poet."
Vocabulary lists containing comic
List 1
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Week 1 Spelling
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Funny
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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.
One first-time attendee, sexual-assault survivor and speaker Nicole Earnest-Payte, thinks that CrimeCon gets a bad reputation because its name is similar to Comic Con, the annual sci-fi and super-hero juggernaut.
From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026
Comic collectibles will also be traded and sold.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
Both The Comic Strip Presents and The Young Ones were born from those early days, Planer said, with the latter only taking six months to film.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
Mercian donated the tandem bike to Comic Relief and the successful £11,000 bid will go to the charity.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Comic books are what my brother is collecting now.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
