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antic 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of anticnext
1
as in humorous
causing or intended to cause laughter antic shenanigans that made me nearly fall over with laughter

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in playful
given to good-natured joking or teasing an antic group of kids at summer camp

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

antic

2 of 2

noun

ˈan-tik How to pronounce antic (audio)
as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke we'll have no more of your antics, so just settle down

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of antic
Adjective
Black comedy is among the hardest tones to nail, and if there was a single knowing wink from the actors or even a soupçon of exaggeration in the execution, the whole thing could simply become too tiresomely antic to be actually funny. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 June 2026 The grid of four tiles features an illustration of a fanciful townhouse, along with drawings inspired by the comic book Archie’s Madhouse and antic cells from Donald Duck and The Katzenjammer Kids. — Carolina A. Miranda, The New York Review of Books, 22 May 2026
Noun
Joe’s vigilante antics soon draw the ire of mob kingpin Giuseppe Falcone (Pacino) — this is the best name Besson could come up with — who confronts the killer priest in a confessional before vying to take him down. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026 Esmerelda’s become something like the Dwight Schrute of the series, with Impacciatore playing her scenes as a clownlike farce, but her antics don’t intersect with the rest of The Paper’s plotlines tonally or narratively. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for antic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antic
  1. humorous
  2. playful
  3. prank
  4. comedic
  5. trick
  6. funny
  7. comical
  8. amusing
Adjective
  • Why do some humorous attempts land perfectly while others fail?
    — Norbert Schwarz, Harvard Business Review, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Too often, humorous novels find comedy by mimicking the things that film and TV do, relying on writing that often feels like transcriptions from the screen.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of humorous
Adjective
  • Eisenberg’s playful comedy, which just premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, is sometimes a musical and occasionally a thriller.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026
  • At a gathering with other artists, a seemingly playful party game culminates in an excruciating monologue about child abuse.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of playful
Noun
  • The prank came amid rumors about Stern’s impending retirement and the cancellation of his show.
    — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Before class started, and the teacher had not yet arrived, students may have been clowning around in the room, making jokes, playing pranks, or talking loudly and inappropriately.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of prank
Adjective
  • Snatch is far more clever than many similar ensemble capers, with a real nasty edge that remains comedic rather than nihilistic.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Running eight episodes, Davidson teases that The Varnell Hill Show‘s first season will be an experience like no other, giving viewers a mix of comedic bits, interviews, and live performances.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of comedic
Noun
  • My father was the man of tricks, who sat for an hour mining a watermelon with a circular spoon, who carved the rind into a castle.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Teoxane that pulls a bit of a magic trick; metallic and foil eye shadow sticks with a magnetic design from Danessa Myricks Beauty; and a new way to perform one of plastic surgery’s most popular procedures, breast augmentation, from Motiva.
    — Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of trick
Adjective
  • On paper, the script didn’t seem that funny, and the looseness of it all — the clowning, the lack of a traditional plot structure — seemed kind of slapdash.
    — Victor Garber, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The play touches on issues of male bonding, family, reentering the dating pool, loss, grief and despair, while being very funny almost all the time.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of funny
Adjective
  • The production, directed by Margaret Shigeko Starbuck, runs with the makeshift energy and comical freedom that this contextual shift allows.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The brothers pepper in POV shots of the climbers to literally put the audience in their shoes, but don’t overplay their hand, maintaining palpable reality even when the challenges mount to comical levels.
    — Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of comical
Adjective
  • They’ve been assembled for a brain-breaker of a misfired melodrama, at first darkly amusing, before plunging headlong into soap opera-style twists and a general sense of heavy depression that no one can shake.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The obsessive neat freak beneath the easygoing surface of the virtue-signaling feminist ally might have made an amusing motif if it were ever referenced again.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of amusing

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Cite this Entry

“Antic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antic. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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