cartoon

1 of 2

noun

car·​toon kär-ˈtün 

plural cartoons

1

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

2

a

: a drawing intended as satire, caricature, or humor

a political cartoon

a cartoon drawing

b

: a group of drawings in narrative sequence : comic strip

3

: a video (such as a television show or movie) that is made from a series of drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of inanimate objects (such as puppets) and that simulates movement by slight progressive changes in each frame : animated cartoon

4

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

The film's villain is an entertaining cartoon.

cartoon verb

cartooning

kär-ˈtü-niŋ 

noun

cartoonish

kär-ˈtü-nish 

adjective

cartoonishly adverb

cartoonist

kär-ˈtü-nist 

noun

cartoonlike

kär-ˈtün-ˌlīk 

adjective

cartoony

kär-ˈtü-nē 

adjective

cartoonish

2 of 2

adjective

car·​toon·​ish kär-ˈtü-nish 

: resembling a cartoon

cartoonishly adverb

cartoonishness noun

Synonyms of cartoon

Noun

• sketch
• drawing
• portrait
• depiction
• illustration
• image

Examples of cartoon in a Sentence

Noun

She enjoys reading the cartoons in the Sunday paper.

The kids are watching cartoons.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Perhaps like one’s heart crisply split in two, spilling its squelched juices, like the baobab fruit broken open by the stylish monkey in The Lion King, my favorite vintage cartoon. — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026

Related Stories Cruise, declaiming every line, acting with blind bluster and a mean gleam of good-ol’-boy joy, makes Digger a walking cartoon — a larger-than-life satire of over-the-top American arrogance, like LBJ crossed with Foghorn Leghorn. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026

And yet Demna’s simulation of the real world felt more like a cartoon than an invitation. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 26 Sep. 2026

In 2018, Moore wore a shirt with a political cartoon during her first-grade class photo. — Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Italian cartone pasteboard, cartoon, augmentative of carta leaf of paper — more at card entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1684, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cartoon

• animated cartoon
• strip cartoon

Rhymes for cartoon

• attune
• baboon
• balloon
• bassoon
• buffoon
• cocoon
• festoon
• gaboon
• harpoon
• immune
• impugn
• jejune

Kids Definition

cartoon

noun

car·​toon kär-ˈtün 

1

: a design, drawing, or painting made as a model for the finished work

2

a

: a drawing intended as a humorous comment on public affairs

b

: comic strip

3

: animated cartoon

cartoonist

-ˈtü-nəst 

noun

Etymology

Noun

from Italian cartone "pasteboard, a sketch of a planned drawing or painting done on heavy paper," from carta "sheet of paper," from Latin charta "piece of papyrus" — related to card entry 3, carton