funny
1 Americanadjective
-
funnier,
comparative
-
funniest
superlative
-
providing fun; causing amusement or laughter; amusing; comical.
a funny remark;
a funny person.
-
attempting to amuse; facetious.
Did you really mean that or were you just being funny?
-
warranting suspicion; deceitful; underhanded.
We thought there was something funny about those extra charges.
-
Informal. insolent; impertinent.
Don't get funny with me, young man!
-
curious; strange; peculiar; odd.
Her speech has a funny twang.
noun
-
funnies
plural
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Informal. a funny remark or story; a joke.
to make a funny.
-
funnies,
-
Also called funny paper. the section of a newspaper reserved for comic strips, word games, etc.
noun
-
funnies
plural
adjective
-
causing amusement or laughter; humorous; comical
-
peculiar; odd
-
suspicious or dubious (esp in the phrase funny business )
-
informal faint or ill
to feel funny
noun
Usage
What is a basic definition of funny? Funny describes something that causes fun, especially laughter. Funny can describe someone who is trying to amuse others. It can also describe someone or something that is suspicious or odd. Funny has a few other senses as an adjective and a noun. Funny describes something that is amusing and causes people to laugh. Something that amuses people without causing laughter is usually said to be fun rather than funny. For example, a roller coaster would be called fun, while a knock-knock joke would be called funny. If something is not funny, it is unfunny. Real-life examples: Many people consider clowns, jokes, comedies, pranks, and Internet memes to be funny. These things cause most people to laugh. Used in a sentence: The comedian knew a lot of funny jokes. Funny also describes someone who is trying to get others to laugh or is trying to amuse them. This sense of funny is a synonym of facetious. Used in a sentence: Joan took the comment as an insult even though Luke was just trying to be funny. Funny also describes someone or something that is suspicious or underhanded. You might use this sense when you think something dishonest is going on. The phrase funny business is used in this sense to refer to criminal or unethical activity. Real-life examples: Rigged carnival games, overly friendly salespeople, and deals that seem too good to be true often cause people to think something funny is going on. Used in a sentence: We think something funny is going on at that store on the corner that is never open. Funny can also describe something that is strange, odd, or curious. Real-life examples: If your leg falls asleep, you will probably walk funny. Two tomatoes that grow together to make one tomato might have a funny shape. Used in a sentence: I think the speakers might be broken because the music sounds funny.
Synonym Usage
Funny, laughable, ludicrous refer to that which excites laughter. Funny and laughable are both applied to that which provokes laughter or deserves to be laughed at; funny is a colloquial term loosely applied and in popular use is commonly interchangeable with the other terms: a funny story, scene, joke; a laughable incident, mistake. That which is ludicrous excites laughter by its incongruity and foolish absurdity: The monkey's attempts to imitate the woman were ludicrous.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of funny1
First recorded in 1730–40; fun + -y 1
Origin of funny2
First recorded in 1780–90; perhaps jocular use of funny 1
Explanation
Something that is funny is amusing or comical. Comedians make their living being funny. It seems like the adjective funny should describe something fun — but it doesn’t always. A fun rollercoaster ride might make you scream instead of laugh. In fact, funny is also used in the sense of something that is fishy or shady, or just a little odd, like a funny feeling, or a person who seems a little funny, meaning weird. So if someone calls you funny, make sure they are smiling before you thank them for the compliment.
Vocabulary lists containing funny
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.
See Examples For:
“Isn’t it funny that I hosted a show about business scams, and now you’re in trouble for a business scam?”
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
Rather than the story dying out, a funny thing happened.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
In his funny and touching reflection on his childhood, Baker explains that he was trying to satisfy his mother, who insisted that her son “make something” of himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Morais said co-ordinating the choreography for the fight scenes was "funny".
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
“Seems funny to see the paper mill closed,” the pilot said and then added, “With no electricity, the whole county is closed.”
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Did these two never read the funnies growing up?
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2024
The primary colors of Johns’ target collide with the printing press of the Sunday funnies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2023
Most episodes have the same rhythm as the Sunday funnies, with similarly corny punch lines.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2022
It’s a little like TikTok but specifically for Netflix funnies.
From The Verge ● Oct. 4, 2021
The Sunday funnies influenced me, and although I admired the strong heroes who always conquered in the end, I identified with Tiny Tim.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
The trick is that in addition to being accomplished comedians, Mr. Segel and Ms. Weaving are also first-rate dramatic actors: Their hatred feels genuine, which only makes the jokes funnier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
How much funnier Shakespeare’s motley crew can be when we’re allowed to discover the variety of eccentricity and ludicrousness on display for ourselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Elsewhere in his interview, McSweeney said he found Donald Trump "much funnier than I expected him to be".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
“Because what is funnier than appearing in one soap opera? Appearing in two!” he said.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
However, the children had always told Mr. Popper that the act was all the funnier for all this pushing and scrambling, and Mr. Popper supposed it was.
From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater
After performing stand-up around New York, he appeared on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam” — The Times reviewer David Kronke called his 1993 performance “the evening’s funniest, edgiest set” — and moved to Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
One of his best friends on the comedy circuit, Parenting Hell podcaster Rob Beckett, is another of this year's funniest contestants.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
“I just thought that was the funniest thing in the world.”
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
While they keep insisting “The Bear” is a comedy, the funniest show I saw, “American Classic,” was completely overlooked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Maybe that's why Park kept laughing, even when they were talking about "Helter Skelter"—which wasn't the Beatles' funniest song, even before Charles Manson got a hold of it.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
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