comedy
- 01 A2 Elementary
movies, plays, or shows that are funny and intended to make you laugh.
entertainment consisting of jokes, satire, or humorous sketches intended to provoke laughter.
Simple“I usually watch a comedy when I feel stressed because I need a good laugh.”
In context“The festival features a wide variety of comedy, ranging from traditional stand-up to experimental improvisational theatre.”
UsageUncountable when referring to the genre or the quality of being funny.
- 02 A2 Elementary
a specific movie, play, or book that has a funny story and usually a happy ending.
a dramatic work that is light and humorous in tone, often concluding with a positive resolution for the characters.
Simple“We went to see a romantic comedy at the cinema last night.”
In context“Shakespeare's early comedies often rely on cases of mistaken identity and complex romantic entanglements to drive the plot.”
UsageCountable when referring to a specific creative work.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
a real-life event or situation that is funny or ridiculous.
a humorous or absurd event or sequence of occurrences in real life.
Simple“The whole trip was a comedy of errors, starting with us losing our passports.”
In context“The meeting descended into pure comedy when the manager accidentally projected his private shopping list onto the wall.”
UsageOften used with 'of errors' to describe a series of funny mistakes.
- 04 C2 Proficiency
an old type of long poem or story that ends happily, even if it is not always funny.
a medieval narrative poem written in a style between tragedy and elegy, typically featuring a happy or prosperous conclusion.
Simple“Dante's Divine Comedy is one of the most famous poems in world history.”
In context“In the medieval tradition, a comedy was defined by its movement from misfortune to a joyful resolution rather than by its capacity to elicit laughter.”
Teacher's tipModern students often find this sense confusing because works like Dante's 'Divine Comedy' are not 'funny' in the modern sense.
From Middle English comedie, from Middle French comedie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Ancient Greek κωμῳδία (kōmōidía), from κῶμος (kômos, “revel, carousing”) + either ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”) or ἀοιδός (aoidós, “singer, bard”), both from ἀείδω (aeídō, “to sing”). Doublet of commedia.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.