cartoon

play

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

Definition of cartoon

1 : a preparatory design, drawing, or painting (as for a fresco)
2a : a drawing intended as satire, caricature, or humor a political cartoonb : comic strip
3 : animated cartoon
4 : a ludicrously simplistic, unrealistic, or one-dimensional portrayal or version the film's villain is an entertaining cartoon

cartoon

verb

cartooning

noun

cartoonish

play \-ˈtü-nish\ adjective

cartoonishly

adverb

cartoonist

play \-ˈtü-nist\ noun

cartoonlike

play \-ˈtün-ˌlīk\ adjective

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

Archie was the smallest guy on the court, feisty and having cartoon shooting range.

— gregg doyel, Indianapolis Star, "Doyel: A special friendship Archie Miller takes with him everywhere", 6 July 2017
Emma Allen, 29, is leading the charge as the magazine's new cartoon editor.

— claire zillman, Fortune, "The World’s Most Powerful Women: July 3", 2 July 2017
Chuck Goggin won a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star in Vietnam and then wore them—according to the cartoon on the back of his card—pinned to his baseball uniform.

— steve rushin, SI.com, "How the toys and totems of the 1970s shaped a lifelong love of sports", 21 June 2017
Approximately 15 children attended, and for a nominal fee of $10 (which included a snack), each walked away with a mug decorated with everything from handprints and hearts to cartoon characters and cheerful colors.

— barbara bresnahan, Courant Community, "Kids Create Unique Gifts For Dad", 20 June 2017
Hair was pushed from the face with crisscrossing headbands, creating a cartoon Magna-style look of spiking locks. _

— colleen barry, The Seattle Times, "Shawn Mendes takes a turn on the Emporio Armani runway", 17 June 2017
Then there are the memes, so many of them: silly images of Donald Trump, cartoon frogs, disparaging images of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, plenty of objectionable language—

— adrienne lafrance, The Atlantic, "When a Suspected Shooter’s Facebook Page Becomes a Circus", 14 June 2017
Around the corner are some Elton John memorabilia and a cartoon sketch of Greeley.

— bradley zint, Daily Pilot, "After 37 years, Golden Truffle is calling it quits", 9 June 2017
Telemundo, in the moments before Comey started, also showed a simulated reconstruction of Trump and Comey meeting in the White House, with conversations in Spanish printed in cartoon-like bubbles over their heads.

— Washington Post, "Coverage of Comey testimony plays out with partisan spin", 8 June 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!

First Known Use: 1671

See Words from the same year

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

CARTOON Defined for Kids

cartoon

play

noun car·toon \kär-ˈtün\

Definition of cartoon for Students

1 : a movie or television program made by photographing a series of drawings
2 : a drawing (as in a newspaper) making people or objects look funny or foolish
3 : comic strip