cartoon

play

noun, often attributive car·toon \ kär-ˈtün \

Definition of cartoon

1 :a preparatory design, drawing, or painting (as for a fresco)

2 a :a drawing intended as satire, caricature, or humor

a political cartoon

b :comic strip

3 :animated cartoon

4 :a ludicrously simplistic, unrealistic, or one-dimensional portrayal or version

the film's villain is an entertaining cartoon

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cartoon

verb

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cartooning

noun

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cartoonish

play \-ˈtü-nish\ adjective

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cartoonishly

adverb

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cartoonist

play \-ˈtü-nist\ noun

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cartoonlike

play \-ˈtün-ˌlīk\ adjective

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cartoony

play \-ˈtü-nē\ adjective

See cartoon defined for English-language learners

See cartoon defined for kids

Examples of cartoon in a Sentence

She enjoys reading the cartoons in the Sunday paper.
The kids are watching cartoons.

Recent Examples of cartoon from the Web

The main Politico account tweeted this cartoon from Pulitzer Prize-winner Matt Wuerker early Wednesday afternoon.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "Politico’s tone-deaf, unhelpful cartoon about conservatives being rescued from Harvey by the government," 30 Aug. 2017
There's even a cartoon video to explain the promotion: And the promotion isn't necessarily sitting well with people, including other artists.

— gabe bergado, Teen Vogue, "Taylor Swift’s Early Ticket Campaign Is Causing Controversy," 30 Aug. 2017
The pair may be coming back, at least in cartoon form.

— alan gomez, USA TODAY, "Coming soon: Crime-fighting duo Obama and Biden vs. 'Dr. Claw' Trump," 30 Aug. 2017
Franklin capitalized on its menace in his first political cartoon, ‘

— jeanette lerman, Philly.com, "Meet Ben Franklin's tragic pal who made Pa.'s paper money hack-proof," 25 Aug. 2017
Hours later, Trump retweeted—and then deleted—a cartoon of a train running over a person with a CNN logo covering their head.

— isobel thompson, The Hive, "Three Days After Charlottesville Car Attack, Trump Retweets Image of Train Running Over CNN Reporter," 15 Aug. 2017
Strings of lights shaped like pumpkins, bats, or cartoon ghosts may be cute for a kids' Halloween party.

— kiona smith-strickland, Popular Mechanics, "5 Scary Ways to Light Up Your Yard for Halloween," 15 Aug. 2017
Hours later, Trump retweeted—and then deleted—a cartoon of a train running over a person with a CNN logo covering their head.

— isobel thompson, vanityfair.com, "Three Days After Charlottesville Car Attack, Trump Retweets Image of Train Running Over CNN Reporter," 15 Aug. 2017
If this West Wing were a cartoon, Mooch would’ve had little birds flying around his head.

— olivia nuzzi, Daily Intelligencer, "The Mooch’s Wild, 11-Day Ride Through Trump’s White House," 31 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cartoon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cartoon

Italian cartone pasteboard, cartoon, augmentative of carta leaf of paper — more at card

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1671

See Words from the same year

cartoon Synonyms

Synonyms

drawing, delineation, sketch

Related Words

contour, figure, outline, silhouette; caricature, doodle, illustration; depiction, image, likeness, portrait, representation; engraving, etch, etching; aquatint, charcoal, line drawing, pastel, watercolor; blueprint

Near Antonyms

homage, tribute

CARTOON Defined for English Language Learners

cartoon

play

noun

Definition of cartoon for English Language Learners

: a drawing in a newspaper or magazine intended as a humorous comment on something
: a series of drawings that tell a story
: a film or television show made by photographing a series of drawings : an animated film or television show