plural comedies
Synonyms of comedynext
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
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.
Among the nominees for Outstanding Drama Series is HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a branch of the Game of Thrones tree that was notable for, among other things, being a half-hour comedy series. Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2026 The next year, Pastore starred opposite Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard and future Sopranos star Aida Turturro in the comedy romance True Love. Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026 By Elisabeth Zerofsky How the late-night host won comedy’s biggest prize — despite the White House’s objections. Daniel Bergner Elisabeth Zerofsky Benoit Denizet-Lewis David Marchese Charles Homans Kwame Anthony Appiah Sophie Haigney Chris Almeida Ismail Muhammad John Hodgman, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026 The workplace comedy, that unsurprisingly takes place in a struggling Pennsylvanian tire shop, isn’t overly complex but is undoubtedly one of the funniest things on Netflix at the moment. Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for comedy

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Comedy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comedy. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Kids Definition

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

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