comical
Americanadjective
-
producing laughter; amusing; funny.
a comical fellow.
-
Obsolete. pertaining to or of the nature of comedy.
adjective
-
causing laughter
-
ludicrous; laughable
Related Words
See amusing.
Other Word Forms
- comicality noun
- comically adverb
- comicalness noun
- noncomical adjective
- noncomicality noun
- noncomically adverb
- noncomicalness noun
- quasi-comical adjective
- quasi-comically adverb
- semicomical adjective
- semicomically adverb
- uncomical adjective
- uncomically adverb
Etymology
Origin of comical
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; comic, -al 1
Explanation
Something comical is humorous, amusing, silly, or just plain funny; it makes people laugh. When you think comical, think laughter-causing. Stand-up comedians and comic strips intend to be comical. People like to share comical moments: for example, by posting videos of their pets doing comical things, like a dog going bananas in a water sprinkler. Just like the dog doesn't know it's being funny, people are unintentionally comical too. If a person absorbed in his cell phone conversation falls down a manhole, many will find it comical.
Vocabulary lists containing comical
Out of the Dust
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -al, -ial
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Critics come in for harsher abuse, but Mr. Ireland spreads around his comical scorn about the vanities and hypocrisies of theater folk liberally.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
How comical is that response when someone is literally telling you that those are the two areas they struggle with?
From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026
If the stakes weren’t so high, it would have been almost comical to see an adult behave so childishly in such a formal setting.
From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026
The score is a comical barrage of harp strums, as if heaven’s angels have gotten good and drunk.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026
Every bit of it—its spindly legs, its chronically puzzled expression, its comical oven-mitt antlers—looks like some droll evolutionary joke.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
