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high comedy

American

noun

comedy dealing with polite society, characterized by sophisticated, witty dialogue and an intricate plot.

high comedy British

noun

comedy set largely among cultured and articulate people and featuring witty dialogue Compare low 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

Other Word Forms

high comedian

noun

Etymology

Origin of high comedy

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

high comedy

This makes for page after page of high comedy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2023

“It was high comedy, it was funny and then to have it turn …”

From Slate ● May 1, 2023

In British television shows like “Gavin and Stacey” and “The Wrong Mans,” he perfected characters who achieved high comedy through constant pressure.

From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2022

Moreover, scenes of Kempton on the witness stand in the courtroom provide moments of high comedy.

From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2022

But Doris's fancy at once divined a score of links between it and the high comedy yonder.

From A Great Success by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023