cartoon

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

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Examples: cartoon in a Sentence

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

Positive feedback from passers-by to her central figure, a girl embracing cartoon characters, powers her on, with her co-creator, Rezones.

— jane margolies, New York Times, "Bringing a 5Pointz Vibe to Lower Manhattan," 1 June 2018
The result was spot-on portraits of 10 cartoon characters any child of the '80s has fondly ingrained in their memory.

— marci robin, Allure, "This Nail Artist Created a Manicure That Features All of Your Favorite '80s Cartoon Characters," 1 June 2018
Fans of the Japanese cartoon character Hello Kitty can find a shrine of sorts to the fictional personality at Fashion Valley Mall, where a new pop-up store sells colorful coffees, cakes and merchandise.

— jennifer van grove, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Hello Kitty Cafe pops up at Fashion Valley — for awhile," 31 May 2018
On May 30th a report by the health select committee of MPs recommended that junk-food ads be banned from television before 9pm and that cartoon characters not be permitted to advertise snacks, among other measures.

— The Economist, "As rich children slim down, poor ones are getting fatter," 31 May 2018
Of course, the show has one advantage over most other shows—cartoon characters never get older.

— mike reiss, WSJ, "How to Succeed Like ‘The Simpsons’," 25 May 2018
The game, a shooter where two teams of six square off, is composed of colorful cartoon characters, each corresponding to a class.

— kevin nguyen, GQ, "Naomi Osaka Is the Coolest Thing in Tennis," 24 May 2018
Attorney Charles Hanor said Buc-ee's did not own the color yellow or the right to a cartoon character logo.

— gabrielle banks, Houston Chronicle, "The finer points of Buc-ee’s case that convinced jury of Choke Canyon’s trademark breach," 23 May 2018
From cover stories in the Saturday Evening Post to Mickey Mouse cartoons and board games, the new airmail service captured the imagination of the American public.

— adam cohen, Smithsonian, "Delivering the Mail Was Once One of the Riskiest Jobs in America," 18 May 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

cartoon Synonyms

Synonyms

delineation, drawing, 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;

CARTOON Defined for English Language Learners

cartoon

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