funnier; funniest
1
2
: differing from the ordinary in a suspicious, perplexing, quaint, or eccentric way : peculiar
My car has been making a funny noise.
—often used as a sentence modifierFunny, things didn't turn out the way we planned.
3
: involving trickery or deception
told his prisoner not to try anything funny
plural funnies
1
: one that is funny
especially
: joke
2
funnies plural
: comic strips or the comic section of a periodical
—usually used with the
Synonyms
Examples of funny in a Sentence
Adjective
He told a funny story.
He's a very funny guy.
What are you laughing at? There's nothing funny about it.
There's something funny going on here.
She has some funny ideas about how to run a company.
“I can't find my keys.” “That's funny—they were here a minute ago.”
My car has been making a funny noise lately.
A funny thing happened to me the other day.
It feels funny to be back here again.
It's funny that you should say that—I was just thinking the same thing myself.
Noun
reading the Sunday funnies is part of my weekend ritual
let's can the funnies—we've got serious work to do here
Recent Examples on the Web
Courtney Howard, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024
The duo reunited on stage for a funny bit about their villainous roles in two '90s Batman movies; DeVito played the character Penguin in 1992's Batman Returns, while Schwarzenegger played Mr. Freeze in 1997's Batman & Robin.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 25 Apr. 2024
Please watch her brash and funny performance as a tyrannical co-op board president in Elsbeth and report back.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 25 Apr. 2024
Although Bayard’s credentials as a reader and academic are serious, his book is delightfully mischievous and funny.
—Vogue, 25 Apr. 2024
This level of intimacy, along with frank, often funny and frequently poignant interviews (in the last episode Bon Jovi gets choked up about his love of songwriting) and a barrage of archival footage, combines to offer a film that even hardcore Bon Jovi fans will likely learn something from.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 25 Apr. 2024
The fast food chain has also cooked up a funny Taco Tuesday commercial starring LeBron James and Jason Sudeikis.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
Which is funny because, visually, these look nothing alike.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 23 Apr. 2024
Either way, Murray and Quinn were great, but Vulcano was the leading source of funny.
—David Wysong, The Enquirer, 22 Apr. 2024
EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
What is becoming professionally demoralizing to her lately, though, is the sense that female artists are being removed from America’s comics pages as several newspaper chains have consolidated or contracted their print funnies in recent years.
—Michael Cavna, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
Ahead of the play’s opening night on Sunday, Calderón Kellett had a candid chat with The Times about writing Latino characters who are thriving, learning about theater from Norman Lear and making even the toughest conversations laugh-out-loud funny.
—Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
The Vince Staples Show is frequently laugh-out-loud funny, but there’s a hardness to it — and the series’ protagonist — that feels both unexpected and authentic.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 15 Feb. 2024
At last year’s inaugural event in Kansas City, the readings ranged from laugh-out-loud funny to heart-rending reports about bullying.
—Bill Brownlee, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2024
The primary colors of Johns’ target collide with the printing press of the Sunday funnies.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023
Hop to the comments to share your Easter funnies.
—Erin Cavoto, Country Living, 22 Mar. 2023
Many readers found Caity’s self-deprecating tone in the article funny, and others commented that the van life wasn’t supposed to be glamorous.
—New York Times, 4 May 2022
Adjective
And of course, young Luke and Joel, who later in life went on to form the duo For King + Country (and who also provide the heartfelt closing credits ballad), get significant attention, delivering a couple of funny, self-aware bits.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024
The duo reunited on stage for a funny bit about their villainous roles in two '90s Batman movies; DeVito played the character Penguin in 1992's Batman Returns, while Schwarzenegger played Mr. Freeze in 1997's Batman & Robin.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 25 Apr. 2024
Please watch her brash and funny performance as a tyrannical co-op board president in Elsbeth and report back.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 25 Apr. 2024
Although Bayard’s credentials as a reader and academic are serious, his book is delightfully mischievous and funny.
—Vogue, 25 Apr. 2024
This level of intimacy, along with frank, often funny and frequently poignant interviews (in the last episode Bon Jovi gets choked up about his love of songwriting) and a barrage of archival footage, combines to offer a film that even hardcore Bon Jovi fans will likely learn something from.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 25 Apr. 2024
The fast food chain has also cooked up a funny Taco Tuesday commercial starring LeBron James and Jason Sudeikis.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
Which is funny because, visually, these look nothing alike.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 23 Apr. 2024
Either way, Murray and Quinn were great, but Vulcano was the leading source of funny.
—David Wysong, The Enquirer, 22 Apr. 2024
Noun
The point is that the episode has arguably the highest throwaway-gag-per-minute ratio of any Simpsons, and all of them are laugh-out-loud funny.
—EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
What is becoming professionally demoralizing to her lately, though, is the sense that female artists are being removed from America’s comics pages as several newspaper chains have consolidated or contracted their print funnies in recent years.
—Michael Cavna, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
Ahead of the play’s opening night on Sunday, Calderón Kellett had a candid chat with The Times about writing Latino characters who are thriving, learning about theater from Norman Lear and making even the toughest conversations laugh-out-loud funny.
—Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
The Vince Staples Show is frequently laugh-out-loud funny, but there’s a hardness to it — and the series’ protagonist — that feels both unexpected and authentic.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 15 Feb. 2024
At last year’s inaugural event in Kansas City, the readings ranged from laugh-out-loud funny to heart-rending reports about bullying.
—Bill Brownlee, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2024
The primary colors of Johns’ target collide with the printing press of the Sunday funnies.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023
Hop to the comments to share your Easter funnies.
—Erin Cavoto, Country Living, 22 Mar. 2023
Many readers found Caity’s self-deprecating tone in the article funny, and others commented that the van life wasn’t supposed to be glamorous.
—New York Times, 4 May 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'funny.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Video
Fun, Funner, Funnest
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
Dictionary Entries Near funny
Cite this Entry
“Funny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/funny. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
funny
1 of 2 adjective
fun·ny
ˈfən-ē 
funnier; funniest
1
: causing or intended to cause laughter
a funny story
2
: different from ordinary in a way that is odd, curious, or suspicious
it's funny you should ask
that's funny—they were here yesterday
there's something funny going on
3
: involving trickery
don't try anything funny
funny
2 of 2 noun
plural funnies
1
: one that is funny
especially
: joke entry 1 sense 1
2
plural
: comic strips or the comic section of a newspaper
—usually used with the
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