comedy

[ kom-i-dee ]

/ ˈkɒm ɪ di /

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See synonyms for comedy on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural com·e·dies.

a play, movie, etc., of light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.

that branch of the drama which concerns itself with this form of composition.

the comic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life.

any literary composition dealing with a theme suitable for comedy, or employing the methods of comedy.

any comic or humorous incident or series of incidents.

OTHER WORDS FOR comedy

5 jesting, humor, pleasantry, banter.

See synonyms for comedy on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of comedy

1350–1400; Middle English comedye<Medieval Latin cōmēdia,Latin cōmoedia<Greek kōmōidía, equivalent to kōmōid(ós) comedian (kômo(s) merry-making + aoidós singer) + -ia-y³

OTHER WORDS FROM comedy

co·me·di·al

[kuh-mee-dee-uhl], /kəˈmi di əl/, adjectivepro·com·e·dy, adjective

Words nearby comedy

comedown, come down on, come down the pike, come down to, come down with, comedy, comedy of errors, comedy of manners, come forward, come from, come from behind

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use comedy in a sentence

Users say they just want to be able to continue creating and watching video clips featuring users lip synching, dancing, and doing short comedy skits.
What’s Oracle? TikTok users react to proposed Oracle deal|Danielle Abril|September 15, 2020|Fortune
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, in creating comedy content remotely.
How the coronavirus outbreak is roiling the film and entertainment industries|Alissa Wilkinson|September 11, 2020|Vox
It’s been a mission and an adventure, it’s almost like a comedy.
‘It can take on a panopticon effect’: Slack’s presenteeism problem grows with no end in sight for remote work|Lucinda Southern|August 28, 2020|Digiday
It was sort of a comedy of errors, a series of mishaps, just poor medical advice, and obviously I accept responsibility.
Could Grant Hill Have Been Better Than Michael Jordan?|Joshua Eferighe|August 20, 2020|Ozy

The neighborhood is bordered by tree-lined Halsted Street on the north side of the city and is home to comedy clubs, theaters, and a young and vibrant nightlife.
Chicago: A Midwestern Jewel for the LGBTQ Community|LGBTQ-Editor|July 11, 2020|No Straight News
This is comedy based on a cold humor, detached, euphemistic, devoid of any generosity.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Was that a transitional moment for you from music to comedy?
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You write a lot about how you were a jerk or a snob when it came to comedy or film.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Decades ago, the writer-director wrote an episode of the animated comedy that never was.
Here’s the Lost Judd Apatow ‘Simpsons’ Episode, Penned by Judd Apatow|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The memoir follows Oswalt from 1995 to 1999 as he was starting out on his comedy career in Los Angeles.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Did he at all intrench upon your Sovereignty in Verse, because he had now and then written a Comedy that succeeded?
A Letter from Mr. Cibber to Mr. Pope|Colley Cibber
The play may be pure comedy, comedy-drama, tragedyeven farceor melodrama.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
She laughed at the comedy and wept—she and the gaudy woman next to her wept over the tragedy.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
It was a comedy on both sides, but it remained a comedy so long as those papers were not forthcoming.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White
I could not avoid meeting you, and I felt I could not play a comedy of lies as to my reason for not being able to go to Kamenka.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky

British Dictionary definitions for comedy

comedy

/ (ˈkɒmɪdɪ) /

noun plural -dies

a dramatic or other work of light and amusing character

the genre of drama represented by works of this type

(in classical literature) a play in which the main characters and motive triumph over adversity

the humorous aspect of life or of events

an amusing event or sequence of events

humour or comic stylethe comedy of Chaplin

Word Origin for comedy

C14: from Old French comédie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Greek kōmōidia, from kōmos village festival + aeidein to sing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for comedy

comedy

A work — play, story, novel, or film — that ends happily for the main character (or protagonist) and contains humor to some degree. A comedy may involve unhappy outcomes for some of the characters. Shylock, for example, in The Merchant of Venice, a comedy by William Shakespeare, is disgraced in the play. The ancient Greeks and Romans produced comedies, and great numbers have been written in modern times.

comedy

OTHER WORDS FOR comedy

Origin of comedy

OTHER WORDS FROM comedy

Words nearby comedy

Words related to comedy

How to use comedy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for comedy

Word Origin for comedy

Cultural definitions for comedy