Comedy consists of types of entertainment, such as plays and films, or particular scenes in them, that are intended to make people laugh.
He dropped out of university in Manchester to pursue a career in comedy.
...a TV comedy series.
2. countable noun
A comedy is a play, film, or television programme that is intended to make people laugh.
3. uncountable noun
The comedy of a situation involves those aspects of it that make you laugh.
Jackie sees the comedy in her millionaire husband's thrifty habits. [+ in]
4. See also situation comedy
More Synonyms of comedy
comedy in British English
(ˈkɒmɪdɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-dies
1.
a dramatic or other work of light and amusing character
2.
the genre of drama represented by works of this type
3.
(in classical literature) a play in which the main characters and motive triumph over adversity
4.
the humorous aspect of life or of events
5.
an amusing event or sequence of events
6.
humour or comic style
inspired by the comedy of Chaplin
Word origin
C14: from Old French comédie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Greek kōmōidia, from kōmos village festival + aeidein to sing
comedy in American English
(ˈkɑmədi)
nounWord forms: pluralˈcomedies
1. Obsolete
a drama or narrative with a happy ending or nontragic theme
Dante's Divine Comedy
2.
a.
any of various types of play or film with a more or less humorous treatment of characters and situation and a happy ending
see also comedy of manners, farce, high comedy, low comedy
b.
such plays collectively
c.
the branch of drama having to do with such plays
d.
the writing, acting, or theoretical principles of this kind of drama
3.
a novel or any narrative having a comic theme, tone, etc.
4.
the comic element in a literary work, or in life
5.
an amusing or comic event or sequence of events
Idioms:
cut the comedy
Word origin
ME & OFr comedie < L comoedia < Gr kōmōidia < kōmos, revel, carousal + aeidein, to sing: see ode
Examples of 'comedy' in a sentence
comedy
On the surface a buddy comedy about a con artist fox and rabbit cop.
The Sun (2016)
It was the prelude to one of the funniest scenes in film comedy.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It picked up the Emmy for outstanding comedy series last weekend.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It was more than a persona, but not quite a comedy character.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Of the five biggest earners from a drama or comedy, three are women.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
When his blend of comedy and drama works, his writing is in a league of its own.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Another amusing comedy of errors.
The Sun (2016)
She said:'I really enjoy playing the comedy and the fun.
The Sun (2017)
Common Sense is a new comedy series, which is filmed right up to the wire to keep it topical.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
I don't like romantic comedies, so there you go.
The Sun (2016)
You can then record your comedy clips of people and send them to pals.
The Sun (2012)
Which comedy series uses all nine letters?
The Sun (2015)
Thank goodness for a return to quality comedy entertainment.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Riches presents his fabulously funny exercise in character comedy.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In that sense comedy and life were one.
John Fisher Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing (2006)
But this new bittersweet comedy drama looks more promising.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It was all very agreeable and an amusing comedy.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Instead it is an anodyne light comedy.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But situation comedy on the telly today is not a patch on what it used to be.
The Sun (2014)
We are looking for real punters who know and care about comedy.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It is time to make some interesting documentaries and some good comedy programmes.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There is a twist of wisdom about this romantic comedy that inspires tears.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
She had an inbuilt knack of seeing comedy in people and writing it.
The Sun (2016)
As with all situations there were comedy moments.
Richard Holmes Dusty Warriors: Modern Soldiers at War (2006)
Family comedy about a musician whose life is turned upside down by a trio of singing rodents.
The Sun (2009)
Character comedy at its most committed.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
That is the comedy of life.
The Sun (2010)
In that comedy he played a carer who worked for a rich, white disabled man.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It was no longer a series of drawing-room comedies or stiff war films.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Bed down for six and a half hours of music, entertainment and comedy.
The Sun (2011)
That said, there did seem to be more bickering and less of the light comedy in which the show used to specialise.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Quotations
Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of our lifeSir Philip SidneyThe Defence of Poetry
The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feelHorace WalpoleLetters
All tragedies are finish'd by a death, All comedies are ended by a marriageLord ByronDon Juan
You can't be beautiful and sexy forever. You can be funnyDiane Keaton
Word lists with
comedy
Types of drama, Types of entertainment
In other languages
comedy
British English: comedy /ˈkɒmɪdɪ/ NOUN
Comedy consists of types of entertainment that are intended to make people laugh.
His career was in comedy.
American English: comedy
Arabic: كوميديا
Brazilian Portuguese: comédia
Chinese: 喜剧
Croatian: komedija
Czech: komedie
Danish: komedie
Dutch: komedie
European Spanish: humorismo
Finnish: komedia
French: comédie drôle
German: Komödie
Greek: κωμωδία
Italian: commedia
Japanese: コメディー
Korean: 코미디
Norwegian: komedie
Polish: komedia
European Portuguese: comédia
Romanian: comedie
Russian: комедия
Latin American Spanish: comedia
Swedish: komedi
Thai: ละครตลก
Turkish: komedi
Ukrainian: комедія
Vietnamese: hài kịch
All related terms of 'comedy'
comedy club
a club where stand-up comedians perform
comedy show
a funny programme on TV or radio
high comedy
comedy set largely among cultured and articulate people and featuring witty dialogue
low comedy
comedy characterized by slapstick and physical action
black comedy
a comedy dealing with an unpleasant situation in a pessimistic or macabre manner
comedy writer
A writer is a person who writes books, stories , or articles as a job.
Divine Comedy
a long narrative poem in Italian, written ( c. 1307-21) by Dante Alighieri: it deals with the author's imagined journey through Hell , Purgatory , and Paradise
light comedy
a play or film which deals with its subject matter in an amusing and lighthearted way
tragi-comedy
A tragi-comedy is a play or other written work that is both sad and amusing .
comedy routine
A routine is a short sequence of jokes , remarks , actions, or movements that forms part of a longer performance .
musical comedy
Musical comedy is a type of play or film that has singing and dancing as part of the story and that is humorous and entertaining , especially one written before the middle of the twentieth century .
romantic comedy
a humorous film, novel or play about a love story that ends happily
alternative comedy
a style of comedy originating in the UK in the 1980s that seeks to avoid racist or sexist stereotypes , and usually puts forward left-wing , anti-establishment views
character comedy
comedy , or a comedy, in which the main source of humour is in the character of the people represented in it
cut the comedy
to stop joking
Restoration comedy
the type of comedy written and performed in the Restoration period
situation comedy
A situation comedy is an amusing television drama series about a set of characters. The abbreviation → sitcom is also used.
comedy of manners
a comedy dealing with the way of life and foibles of a social group
musical
You use musical to indicate that something is connected with playing or studying music.
Chinese translation of 'comedy'
comedy
(ˈkɔmɪdɪ)
n
(u) (= humour) 幽默 (yōumò)
(c) (= play, film) 喜剧(劇) (xǐjù) (部, bù)
1 (noun)
a comedy set in 18th-century Ireland
Synonyms
light entertainment
sitcom (informal)
soap opera (slang)
soapie or soapy (Australian)
Opposites
opera
,
tragedy
,
melodrama
,
high drama
,
serious play
2 (noun)
Definition
such works as a genre
He and I provided the comedy with songs and monologues.
Synonyms
humour
She couldn't ignore the humour of the situation.
fun
She had a great sense of fun.
joking
farce
The plot often borders on farce.
jesting
slapstick
wisecracking
hilarity
witticisms
facetiousness
chaffing
drollery
Opposites
sadness
,
seriousness
,
melancholy
,
solemnity
Quotations
Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of our life [Sir Philip Sidney – The Defence of Poetry]The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel [Horace Walpole – Letters]All tragedies are finish'd by a death, All comedies are ended by a marriage [Lord Byron – Don Juan]You can't be beautiful and sexy forever. You can be funny [Diane Keaton]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of drollery
Synonyms
humour,
fun,
wit,
farce,
absurdity,
pleasantry,
buffoonery,
jocularity,
archness,
whimsicality,
waggishness,
comicality
in the sense of farce
Definition
the style of comedy of this kind
The plot often borders on farce.
Synonyms
comedy,
satire,
slapstick,
burlesque,
buffoonery,
broad comedy
in the sense of fun
Definition
pleasant, enjoyable, and light-hearted activity or amusement