Tra từ comics - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

comic [comic comics] adjective, noun BrE [ˈkɒmɪk] NAmE [ˈkɑːmɪk]
adjective
1. amusing and making you laugh
•a comic monologue/story
•The play is both comic and tragic.
•She can always be relied on to provide comic relief (= sth to make you laugh) at a boring party.
•He wore a red nose and novelty glasses for comic effect.
2. only before noun connected with comedy (= entertainment that is funny and that makes people laugh)
•a comic opera
•a comic actor
•Woody Allen is a comic genius.

Word Origin:
late 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek kōmikos, from kōmos ‘revel’.

Synonyms:
funny
amusing • entertaining • witty • humorous • comic • hilarious
These words all describe sb/sth that makes you laugh or smile.
funny • that makes you laugh: ▪ a funny story ◇ ▪ He was a very funny guy.
amusing • funny and enjoyable: ▪ It's a very amusing game to play.
entertaining • amusing and interesting: ▪ It was a very entertaining evening.
witty • clever and amusing; able to say or write clever and amusing things: ▪ a witty remark ◇ ▪ a witty public speaker
humorous • funny and entertaining; showing a sense of humour: ▪ a humorous look at the world of fashion
comic • that makes you laugh: ▪ Many of the scenes in the book are richly comic.
hilarious • extremely funny
funny, amusing, humorous or comic?
Amusing is the most general of these words because it includes the idea of being enjoyable as well as making people laugh and can be used to describe events, activities and occasions: ▪ an amusing party/game/evening ◇ a funny/humorous/comic party/game/evening. Humorous is more about showing that you see the humour in a situation, than actually making people laugh out loud. Comic is used especially to talk about writing and drama or things that are funny in a deliberate and theatrical way. It is not used to describe people (except for comic writers). Funny can describe people, jokes and stories, things that happen, or anything that makes people laugh.
a(n) funny/amusing/entertaining/witty/humorous/comic story
a(n) funny/amusing/entertaining/witty/humorous speech
a(n) funny/entertaining/witty/humorous/comic writer
a(n) funny/amusing/hilarious joke
to find sth funny/amusing/entertaining/witty/humorous/hilarious

Example Bank:
•a blackly comic futuristic fantasy
•She can always be relied on to provide comic relief at a boring party.
•a very fine comic actor

noun
1. an entertainer who makes people laugh by telling jokes or funny stories
Syn: ↑comedian
2. (NAmE also ˈcomic book)a magazine, especially for children, that tells stories through pictures
3. the comicsplural (NAmE)the section of a newspaper that contains ↑comic strips

Word Origin:
late 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek kōmikos, from kōmos ‘revel’.

Culture:
comics and comic strips
A comic in the US means a comic strip or strip cartoon. Comic strips are a series of small drawings, called frames, with words that tell a story. Most US newspapers contain comic strips that are read by both adults and children. On weekdays they are usually four frames long, printed in black and white. On Sundays they are longer and in colour. Comic strips are also popular in British newspapers. Some can be found on the ↑Internet.
Most comic strips make jokes about the characters in them and the things that happen to them. For instance, in the ↑Peanuts strips (1950–2000) many of the jokes are about Charlie Brown, who has very bad luck, and his friend Lucy, who is unkind to him. In Calvin and Hobbes (1985–1995), the humour comes from the relationship between a boy and his imaginary friend, a toy tiger. Comic strips in British newspapers include Andy Capp and The Perishers. In the US, Dilbert is about life in the office while Doonesbury comments on political situations through its characters. Most newspapers also print single frames that comment humorously on politicians and other people in the news.
In Britain a comic is a picture magazine, usually for children. Comics contain short stories written as comic strips, and sometimes also competitions and articles. Some parents do not approve of comics, but others argue that they encourage children to read. Popular children’s comics include ↑Beano, ↑Dandy, and 2000 AD, which features mainly science fiction stories. Comics for very young children are often based on popular television programmes, such as Thomas and Friends (which features Thomas the Tank Engine) and ↑Bob the Builder. Adult comics, such as Viz, are usually very rude.
Some of the characters in Beano and Dandy have not changed much over the years and now look old-fashioned. Teachers, for instance, still wear mortar boards (= stiff black hats with a square top), though real teachers stopped wearing them long ago. Many of the most popular comics appear in the form of books, called annuals, around Christmas each year.
Comic books are similar to comics. Each book has a set of characters who have adventures. Many of the characters, such as ↑Spider-Man, Superman and Wonder Woman, have powers that ordinary people do not have.
Pictures of the most famous characters from comic strips and comic books are used on a range of products, for example they are printed on bed covers, T-shirts, lunch boxes and birthday cards.

Example Bank:
•a comic book superhero