com ‧ e ‧ dy /ˈkɒmədi, ˈkɒmɪdi $ ˈkɑː-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural comedies )
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: comédie , from Latin , from Greek komoidia , from komos 'having fun, partying' + aeidein 'to sing' ]
1 . [uncountable] entertainment that is intended to make people laugh
comedy writer/series/show/actor etc
a career in stand-up comedy (=telling jokes in front of people as a job)
2 . [countable] a play, film, or television programme that is intended to make people laugh:
a highly successful TV comedy
3 . [uncountable] the quality in something such as a book or play that makes people laugh SYN humour ⇨ tragedy :
Can’t you see the comedy of the situation?
⇨ ↑ black comedy , ↑ situation comedy
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ comedy + NOUN
▪ a comedy series (=a regular TV programme about the same characters)
I used to like the comedy series 'Friends’.
▪ a comedy show (=a performance)
She has her own comedy show on TV.
▪ a comedy writer
He is best known as a comedy writer for radio and television.
▪ a comedy actor/actress
He was voted the top TV comedy actor.
▪ a comedy star (=a very famous comedy actor or actress)
The main role in the film is played by comedy star Whoopi Goldberg.
▪ a comedy film
They were the most successful comedy films of all time.
▪ a comedy routine (=the jokes that form a comedy show)
He always has a brilliant comedy routine.
▪ a comedy duo (=two people who perform together regularly)
the legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy
▪ the comedy circuit/scene (=all the people, places etc involved in providing comedy)
She became a major star on the international comedy circuit.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + comedy
▪ stand-up comedy (=performances with one person telling jokes alone)
He developed a stand-up comedy act.
▪ slapstick comedy (=in which the performers do silly things like falling over, getting dirty etc)
The tradition of slapstick comedy goes back to the early days of cinema.
▪ high comedy (=intelligent and with very funny conversations and situations)
The director wanted actors who could play high comedy.
▪ low comedy (=about very silly situations etc)
He’s a popular actor who excels at low comedy.
▪ light comedy (=about subjects that are not very serious)
He is clearly talented at light comedy.
▪ black/dark comedy (=about subjects that are usually sad or serious, especially death)
The plot contains plenty of black comedy.
▪ alternative comedy (=that is different from traditional types of comedy)
He’s making a name for himself on the alternative comedy scene.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ a romantic comedy
'Four weddings and a Funeral' is a well-known romantic comedy.
▪ a black comedy (=about serious subjects, especially death)
There are several murders in this black comedy set in Florida.
▪ a musical comedy (=with music and singing)
As far as musical comedies go, this is one of the most successful.
▪ a sentimental comedy (=about emotions such as love and sadness)
The film is one of those tearful sentimental comedies.
▪ a situation comedy (=a regular comedy TV programme about the same characters)
She starred in a situation comedy about a family with teenage kids, that ran for ten years.
▪ a TV comedy
The actor played the character Baldrick in the TV comedy 'Blackadder'.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ film especially British English , movie especially American English a series of images that tell a story and are shown in a cinema or on television:
What’s your favourite movie?
|
It won the award for best foreign film.
|
a made-for-TV movie
▪ motion picture formal ( also picture ) a film – used especially by people who make films or by critics:
a major Hollywood motion picture
|
Tell us about your latest picture.
▪ blockbuster informal a very successful film:
Steven Spielberg’s latest Hollywood blockbuster
▪ flick informal a film – a very informal use:
an action flick
▪ documentary a film that gives detailed information and facts about a particular subject:
a documentary on the rain forest
▪ feature film a film made to be shown in cinemas:
The book was later made into a full-length feature film starring Sean Penn.
▪ comedy a film intended to make people laugh:
Monroe appeared in a number of comedies.
▪ romantic comedy ( also romcom British English informal ) a film about two people who are in love, which is intended to make the people who watch it feel happy:
‘Notting Hill’ is a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
▪ thriller an exciting film, especially about murder or serious crimes:
‘The Birds’ is a classic Hitchcock thriller.
▪ film noir a film that shows strong feelings of fear or evil and whose characters are often immoral, or these films in general:
‘The Big Sleep’ is a classic Hollywood film noir.
▪ action film/movie a film that has lots of fighting, explosions etc:
Stallone’s latest action movie
▪ horror film/movie a frightening film about ghosts, murders etc:
She loves watching old horror movies.
▪ western a film with cowboys in it:
John Wayne is famous for making westerns.
▪ science fiction film/movie ( also sci-fi film/movie informal ) a film about imaginary events in the future or in outer space:
‘2001’ is probably the most famous sci-fi movie ever made.
▪ gangster film/movie a film about violent criminals
▪ silent film/movie an old film without any sound:
The 1920s were the golden age of silent movies.
▪ an independent film/movie a film made by a small film company
▪ animated film/movie/cartoon a film with characters that are drawn or made using a computer:
One of his first animated films was ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’.
▪ anime /ˈænɪmeɪ, -mə/ a type of Japanese animated film, which often has a science fiction story:
Miyazaki’s anime film ‘Spirited Away’ became an international success.
|
an anime character
▪ CGI the use of computers to create characters and images in a film:
The film uses CGI.
|
Disney’s latest CGI movie
▪ short a short film, usually shown before a longer movie in the cinema:
an animated short
▪ trailer a series of short scenes from a film or programme, shown in order to advertise it in a cinema, on television etc:
We had to sit through all the trailers.