Meaning & use
comedic
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Belonging to comedy, or meant to make an audience laugh.
Grammar: Almost always before a noun: a comedic role.
Patterns
- a comedic actor
- comedic timing
The actor is best known for his comedic roles.
She has excellent comedic timing.
The play has a few comedic moments to lighten the mood.
adjectivebefore a noun
Treating a subject in a light, amusing way, rather than seriously.
Grammar: Often describes style or approach: a comedic tone.
Patterns
- a comedic take on something
The documentary takes a comedic look at office life.
The writer gave the tragedy a comedic twist.
His comedic style relies on exaggeration.
Common combinations
- comedic timing
- Her comedic timing made even simple lines funny.
- comedic actor
- He is a gifted comedic actor.
- comedic effect
- The writer repeats the joke for comedic effect.
- comedic talent
- The show gives young performers a place to show their comedic talent.
- comedic role
- He moved from drama to a comedic role.
Synonyms and how they differ
- comic
- Comic is a close match but can also describe something that is funny by accident, whereas comedic stresses comedy as a craft or genre.
- funny
- Funny is the general everyday word for anything that makes you laugh, while comedic is more formal.
- humorous
- Humorous describes something amusing in tone, which may not be a performance.
- farcical
- Farcical means ridiculous in the manner of a farce, which is more extreme than comedic.
Opposites
Word family
- comedy noun
- entertainment designed to make people laugh
- comedian noun
- a performer who tells jokes
- comic adjective
- funny or relating to comedy
- comedienne noun
- a female comedian, now less used
Commonly confused: comedic or comical?
comedic vs comical
Comical means funny in a way that makes you laugh, often unintentionally, while comedic belongs to the art of comedy.
Practice
The actor's ____ timing, knowing exactly when to pause before a punchline, made the audience roar.
Choose one answer.
Comedic describes the craft of comedy, including timing. Comatose means unconscious, commodious means roomy, and commercial relates to business.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “comedic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.