comic
comic — adjective
1. describes a person, action, or thing that is amusing and makes you smile or laug
describes a person, action, or thing that is amusing and makes you smile or laugh — for example, a funny expression on someone's face, or a silly mistake that turns into a cheerful situation.
Ravi's comic way of telling the story had everyone at the dinner party laughing.
collocation: comic way of + verb-ing
The movie has several comic moments, like a dog running through a wedding.
Uncle Rashid wore a comic wig to the family dinner and made the children laugh.
Two strangers shared a comic misunderstanding at the bus stop and both ended up laughing.
Theo's comic impression of their teacher made his classmates laugh during lunch.
- funny
more common and casual; can describe any amusing situation or remark
- humorous
suggests clever, intentional wit rather than silly or physical humour
- amusing
gentler than funny; implies mild entertainment rather than strong laughter
- comical
often emphasises a strange or exaggerated appearance that causes laughter
常見錯誤
2. relating to the type of entertainment that uses humour to make an audience laugh
relating to the type of entertainment that uses humour to make an audience laugh — for example, a comic writer who creates funny scripts, a comic performance on stage, or comic theatre.
Hana wants to become a comic writer and create funny shows for television.
collocation: comic writer / comic actor / comic performance
The school play was a comic show that made fun of life in a small town.
The university drama club put on a comic performance about life in a busy hospital.
Hana studied comic timing by watching videos of comedians she admired.
用法筆記
This sense is almost always used before a noun, like 'comic actor', 'comic writer', or 'comic theatre'. It describes the field or genre of comedy, not whether something is itself funny.
常見錯誤
comic — noun
1. a printed or digital publication that tells a story through a series of drawings
a printed or digital publication that tells a story through a series of drawings or pictures, often with words inside speech bubbles above the characters.
Every Sunday, Yara buys a new comic from the shop near her school.
collocation: buy a comic / read a comic
The librarian put the comics on a low shelf so the children could reach them.
Amara collects Japanese comics and has over fifty books on her bedroom shelf.
Tomás drew a comic about a brave frog and showed it to his classmates.
- comic book
full form, more common in American English
- graphic novel
a longer, more serious comic in book form, often with deeper themes
- manga
a Japanese style of comic, read from right to left
用法筆記
In everyday speech, 'comic' is often short for 'comic book' or 'comic magazine'. The longer form 'comic book' is more common in American English, while 'comic' alone is natural in both British and American English.
常見錯誤
2. a performer whose job is to make an audience laugh by telling jokes, doing funny
a performer whose job is to make an audience laugh by telling jokes, doing funny actions, or acting in amusing ways — also called a comedian.
The comic told a joke about his cat and the audience laughed for a minute.
collocation: the comic told a joke
Nadia works as a comic at a small club downtown, doing shows every Friday night.
During her show, the comic changed her jokes when she noticed the audience was quiet.
The young comic from Taiwan won first prize at the international comedy festival.
用法筆記
When 'comic' means a person, it is interchangeable with 'comedian' in most contexts. 'Comedian' is more common in formal or written English; 'comic' often sounds slightly more informal.
常見錯誤
3. a regular section in a newspaper, magazine, or website where short funny picture
a regular section in a newspaper, magazine, or website where short funny picture stories, commonly called comic strips, appear each day.
My grandfather reads the comic in the newspaper before anything else every morning.
collocation: the comic in the newspaper
The comic on page twelve shows a grumpy cat and a cheerful dog who are neighbours.
Kofi always turns to the comic first when he opens the Sunday paper.
The local newspaper's comic has been running the same characters for over thirty years.
- comics section
more formal term for the collected comic strips in a newspaper
- comics page
the specific page where comic strips appear
用法筆記
In this sense 'the comic' often refers to a specific section or feature within a publication. You can also say 'the comics' (plural) to mean the whole section containing several strips.