Comedian Meaning
/kəˈmiː.di.ən/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn entertainer who performs in a humorous manner, especially by telling jokes.
nounAny person who is humorous or amusing, either characteristically or on a particular occasion.
Sentence Examples
That comedian is very funny.
The audience laughed at the comedian's wit.
She is not so much a singer as a comedian.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The famous ____ told hilarious jokes that made everyone laugh loudly.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ told a series of very funny jokes on stage.
Word Origin & History
From French comédien, from comédie + -ien, from Old French comedie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Ancient Greek κωμῳδία (kōmōidía). By surface analysis, comed(y) + -ian.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"According to Jared Freid, a 39-year-old comedian and co-host of the dating podcast "U Up?," this is known as hoodfishing, a coinage — though not his own — referring to people claiming to be from the city they are dating in but really are living somewhere else entirely."
— 2024 August 29, Gina Cherelus, “The Irresistible Urge to Change Your Location on a Dating App”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Oct 2024:
"It's been my job for many years and taken me to many places, and into many a tight spot, but, on the railway, you'll always find a comedian in the gang, to raise a laugh and keep you going."
— 1960 April 26, A. W. Bennett, “The Locomotive Shedmaster's Day”, in Railway Magazine, page 284:
"[…] the quick comedians
Extemporally will stage us, and present
Our Alexandrian revels;"
— c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
"When a Comedian, celebrated for his excellence in the part of Shylock, first undertook that character, he made daily visits to the center of business, the ’Change, and the adjacent Coffee-houses; that by a frequent intercourse and conversation with “the unforeskinn’d race,” he might habituate himself to their air and deportment."
— 1755, George Colman, The Connaisseur, volume 1, London: R. Baldwin, page 1:
"Becky, the nightingale, took the flowers which he threw to her and pressed them to her heart with the air of a consummate comedian."
— 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 51, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The famous ____ told hilarious jokes that made everyone laugh loudly.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ told a series of very funny jokes on stage.