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.

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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

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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

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

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."

Example Sentences

Young urban professionals have usually been discussed in comic terms, by such writers as Tom Wolfe and P.J.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Narratives run for hundreds or even thousands of episodes and can span TV, movies and comic books.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

The best way I can answer that question is that we take comic book runs, fan desires and unfinished business.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Staging a Shakespeare tragedy with just four actors sounds like a potentially comic stunt or an unfortunate advertisement of dire economic straits, in either case a radical diminishment of the play.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

Stop reading comic books, Tristan, and go read a real book.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

Related Words

• clown
• comedian
• humorist
• stooge