I. com ‧ ic 1 /ˈkɒmɪk $ ˈkɑː-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: comicus , from Greek , from komos ; ⇨ ↑ comedy ]
amusing you and making you want to laugh OPP tragic :
a comic novel
comic writer/actress/performer etc (=someone who writes or performs things that make you laugh)
comic relief (=a situation in a serious story that makes you relax a little because it is funny)
The song provides some comic relief from the intensity of the scene.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ funny making you laugh:
John told me a really funny joke.
|
She’s very talented and funny.
▪ amusing especially written funny and enjoyable. Amusing is more formal than funny . It is often used when something is a little funny and makes you smile, rather than laugh:
an amusing anecdote
|
He found the whole incident rather amusing.
▪ humorous intended to be funny – used about stories, films, articles etc that have situations that are a little funny:
humorous stories
|
The movie is meant to be humorous.
▪ witty using words in a funny and clever way:
witty remarks
|
How witty!
▪ hilarious /hɪˈleəriəs $ -ˈler-/ ( also hysterical informal ) extremely funny:
The children thought it was hilarious.
|
The movie has some hilarious scenes.
|
It was hysterical! You should have seen his face!
▪ comical funny in a strange or silly way – often used when something is not intended to be funny:
It was quite comical watching him trying to dance.
|
her own comical attempts at painting
▪ comic [only before noun] a comic film, play, novel etc is intended to be funny:
a comic drama
▪ light-hearted done for amusement or enjoyment, and not intended to be serious:
The programme is a light-hearted look at recent political events.
▪ comedy noun [countable] a film, play, or television programme that is intended to be funny:
a comedy by Shakespeare
|
She has appeared in several television comedies.
|
a new comedy series on Channel 4
II. comic 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . ( also ˈcomic book ) a magazine for children that tells a story using comic strips
2 . someone whose job is to tell jokes and make people laugh SYN comedian :
a stand-up comic