cartoon

noun

car·​toon kär-ˈtün 

often attributive

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

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

Synonyms

• delineation
• drawing
• sketch

Example Sentences

She enjoys reading the cartoons in the Sunday paper.

The kids are watching cartoons.

Recent Examples on the Web

The colorful plastic bird feeder looks like something from a cartoon. —John Kelly, Washington Post, 14 May 2023

Named for the cartoon frog of popular culture, the coin launched a few weeks ago and soared to a market cap of over $1.6 billion last weekend before dropping off precipitously. —Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 9 May 2023

Included in a one-hour comedy special posted by the comedians last week, the Brady cartoon caught the attention of millions of viewers on YouTube — including Brady himself. —Amrita Khalid, The Verge, 25 Apr. 2023

McKenzie began life in a cartoon strip written by Humphries for English satirist Peter Cook’s 1960s magazine Private Eye. —Rhett Bartlett, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Apr. 2023

The song went viral on TikTok and YouTube, where its creator stood before a computer screen draped in white cloth like a cartoon ghost wearing black sunglasses as the song played. —Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2023

Those cartoon characters 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs were kept very much in the background for this job. —Lars Brandle, Billboard, 20 Apr. 2023

The siblings spoke Russian at home and watched Soviet-era cartoons with their parents, Ella and Mikhail, who emigrated from the Soviet Union in the late 1970s, during a time of mass exodus for Russia's Jewish population. —Libby Cathey, ABC News, 8 Apr. 2023

In the 1930s, Harry picked up a slew of sheet music publishing companies, then launched the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon production imprints to promote the songs. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 6 Apr. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cartoon

• animated cartoon
• strip cartoon

• animated cartoon
• strip cartoon

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

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