comic

[kom-ik]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR comic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by comedy: comic opera.

of or relating to a person who acts in or writes comedy: a comic actor; a comic dramatist.

of, relating to, or characteristic of comedy: comic situations; a comic sense.

provoking laughter; humorous; funny; laughable.

noun

a comedian.

comic book.

comics, comic strips.

the comic, the element or quality of comedy in literature, art, drama, etc.: An appreciation of the comic came naturally to her.

Origin of comic

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cōmicus < Greek kōmikós, equivalent to kôm(os) a revel + -ikos -ic

Related formsnon·com·ic, adjective, nounqua·si-com·ic, adjectivesem·i·com·ic, adjectiveun·com·ic, adjective

Can be confusedcomedic comic comical

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for comic

humorist, comedian, stooge, clown, wag, jester, jokester, joker, wit, buffoon, card, banana, droll, funnyman, quipster

Examples from the Web for comic

Contemporary Examples of comic

Same goes for the comic book character “Captain America,” which Marvel announced in July would be now be portrayed as a black man.
Rush Limbaugh’s Fear of a Black James Bond
Dean Obeidallah
December 29, 2014
What do you think prompted the change in comic book representation of LGBTQ characters?
Gail Simone’s Bisexual Catman and the ‘Secret Six’
Rich Goldstein
December 6, 2014
Why is it important to have a bisexual character in a comic book?
Gail Simone’s Bisexual Catman and the ‘Secret Six’
Rich Goldstein
December 6, 2014
In the comic books, he sticks around at least until the group reaches the Alexandria Safe-Zone.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Crossed’: The Stage Is Now Set for a Bloody, Deadly Midseason Finale
Melissa Leon
November 24, 2014
Comic book heroes are even hotter—Spiderman and Batman probably earn more money nowadays than Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?
Ted Gioia
November 23, 2014

Historical Examples of comic

Aside to audience in comic despair, with appropriate gesture.
The Dramatic Values in Plautus
Wilton Wallace Blancke
It is a pity that the comic chorus had disappeared, or the picture were complete.
The Dramatic Values in Plautus
Wilton Wallace Blancke
Serse, it must be explained, is a comic opera, and the only comic opera that Handel ever wrote.
Handel
Edward J. Dent
Of course, there'd have to be a comic part for me, too, but you needn't worry much about that.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
You couldn't sing a comic song on the pony's back, could you?'
The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for comic

comic

adjective

of, relating to, characterized by, or characteristic of comedy

(prenominal) acting in, writing, or composing comedya comic writer

humorous; funny

noun

a person who is comic, esp a comic actor; comedian

a book or magazine containing comic strips

(usually plural) mainly US and Canadian comic strips in newspapers, etc

Word Origin for comic

C16: from Latin cōmicus, from Greek kōmikos relating to comedy

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

Word Origin and History for comic

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 (see comedy). Meaning "intentionally funny" first recorded 1791, and comedic (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.

"a comedian" is from 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.