seriocomic

[ seer-ee-oh-kom-ik ]

adjective

1. partly serious and partly comic:

   a seriocomic play.

seriocomic

/ ˌsɪərɪəʊˈkɒmɪk /

adjective

1. mixing serious and comic elements

Derived Forms

• ˌserioˈcomically, adverb

Other Words From

• seri·o·comi·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of seriocomic¹

First recorded in 1775–85; seri(ous) + -o- + comic

Example Sentences

Debt is a theme running through Season 5 of “Fargo,” and there was no more terrifying bill collector in Noah Hawley’s latest seriocomic venture into the dark whiteout of the Upper Midwest than Ole Munch.

From Los Angeles Times

In a cultural landscape of darkly seriocomic prestige series like "Succession" and "The Bear," Rose Byrne is happy to just take a pratfall.

From Salon

More to the point, the F-bomb lands in the middle of an enjoyably eccentric, insouciantly funny and often beautiful-looking jumble of an entertainment that plays — at least when it isn’t let down by a wobbly seriocomic tone and some excessive narrative multitasking — like a sincerely moving farewell to some of the more likable rogues and motley misfits in the Marvel cosmos.

From Los Angeles Times

Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi charmed audiences at Sundance 2020 with “The Mole Agent,” her sly, seriocomic documentary about suspicious goings-on at a Santiago nursing home.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, it's a highly stylized and fictionalized seriocomic mystery thriller that employs a slew of heavy hitters, including Jennifer Coolidge, Mia Farrow, Margo Martindale and Richard Kind.

From Salon