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Synonyms

comic

American  
[kom-ik] / ˈkɒm ɪk /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characterized by comedy.

    comic opera.

  2. of or relating to a person who acts in or writes comedy.

    a comic actor; a comic dramatist.

  3. of, relating to, or characteristic of comedy.

    comic situations; a comic sense.

  4. provoking laughter; humorous; funny; laughable.

noun

  1. a comedian.

  2. comic book.

  3. comics, comic strips.

  4. the comic, the element or quality of comedy in literature, art, drama, etc..

    An appreciation of the comic came naturally to her.
comic British  
/ ˈkɒmɪk /

adjective

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

  2. (prenominal) acting in, writing, or composing comedy

    a comic writer

  3. humorous; funny

"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

noun

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

  2. a book or magazine containing comic strips

  3. (usually plural) comic strips in newspapers, etc

"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

Other Word Forms

  • noncomic adjective
  • quasi-comic adjective
  • semicomic adjective
  • uncomic adjective

Etymology

Origin of comic

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

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.

Smart said she was a little taken aback when she first learned how things would pan out for aging comic Deborah Vance and her mentee Ava Daniels, played by Hannah Einbinder.

From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026

Allen, a stand-up comic himself before he became a program producer and the owner of a TV station group and the Weather Channel, said he still writes some of the jokes for his programs.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

His performances were not comic turns or caricatures.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

I’m starting to think large numbers of American voters — and especially conservatives — have never read the “Peanuts” comic strip.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

Simon made a comic show of being capsized, but as he had often proved, he had sea legs enough to weather storms far worse than this.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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.