comedy

noun

com·​e·​dy ˈkä-mə-dē How to pronounce comedy (audio)
plural comedies
1
a
: a medieval narrative that ends happily
Dante's Divine Comedy
b
: a literary work written in a comic style or treating a comic theme
the ancient Roman comedies of Plautus
2
a
: a drama of light and amusing character and typically with a happy ending
a comedy about parenthood
b
: the genre of dramatic literature dealing with the comic or with the serious in a light or satirical manner compare tragedy
3
: a ludicrous or farcical event or series of events
a comedy of errors
4
a
: the comic element
the comedy of many life situations
b
: humorous entertainment
nightclub comedy

Examples of comedy in a Sentence

The new comedy is the network's most popular television show. The movie includes a lot of physical comedy. We couldn't help laughing out loud at the comedy of the situation.
Recent Examples on the Web Theater audiences unaccustomed to drawing room comedies from a century ago that would begin with servants setting up the household conflicts before the main characters made their entrances, might also be confused by the directness of this narrative download. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024 Her career spans more than 30 years across TV, film, standup comedy and other stage work. Jack Dunn, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024 Gerber even asked her Palm Royale costar Kristen Wiig (who was on the long-running comedy show from 2005 to 2012) for advice and stories from her time on SNL. Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 18 Mar. 2024 The 77-year-old actor-comedian, who had a career resurgence in the past decade thanks to the comedy series Schitt’s Creek, recently opened up to The Independent about potentially stepping back from acting sooner rather than later. Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Mar. 2024 By Yair Rosenberg The most controversial Israeli comedy sketch of the current war is just 88 seconds long. Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024 Braugher won two Emmys for his two very different portrayals of a police officer; one for outstanding lead actor in a drama series in Homicide: Life on the Street, and the other for supporting actor in a comedy series with Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024 As part of the strategic programming shift, TruTV’s biggest hit — the hidden camera comedy series Impractical Jokers — will move to TBS starting this summer. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 Free Fire is a black comedy punctuated entirely with bullets, and Murphy manages to become one of the vanishingly small number of sympathetic characters. Danny Horn, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comedy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Medieval Latin comoedia, from Latin, drama with a happy ending, from Greek kōmōidia, from kōmos revel + aeidein to sing — more at ode

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of comedy was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near comedy

Cite this Entry

“Comedy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comedy. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

comedy

noun
com·​e·​dy ˈkäm-əd-ē How to pronounce comedy (audio)
plural comedies
1
: a light amusing play with a happy ending
2
: a comic literary work
3
a
: an amusing or ridiculous event
b
: humorous entertainment

More from Merriam-Webster on comedy

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