cartoonish
Britishadjective
Explanation
Something cartoonish is exaggerated and overly simplified, like your cartoonish drawing of a cat or a cartoonish movie villain. This adjective can mean "like a cartoon," as in the simple, unrealistic illustrations in a kid's book. It also describes things that are over-the-top and a bit silly: "Their cartoonish makeup looked fine onstage, but it's too much up close!" If the bad guy in a film grins evilly and twirls his mustache, most viewers will find him a little cartoonish. The word comes from cartoon, originally "a drawing on strong paper," from a root meaning "heavy paper."
Vocabulary lists containing cartoonish
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.
More than one flopped backward in a cartoonish froth of sparks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Mainstream culture’s relatively lower esteem for the Green Lantern is absolutely related to cartoonish interpretations of his power in live-action depictions.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
"They're travelling at such pace that actually the riders' hair is blown back in quite an expressive cartoonish way, to show how fast they're moving".
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Lifelike meme videos have also been used to depict fictional Iranian military victories and even the strategic Strait of Hormuz reimagined as a cartoonish toll booth.
From Barron's ● Apr. 2, 2026
It looks like a bone, a cartoonish bone, from the animated shows Autumn sometimes watches.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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