Advertisement
English Lexicon

Black comedy

/ˌblæk ˈkɒm.ə.di/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #8500 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A genre of comedy that finds humor in subjects that are generally considered serious, taboo, or distressing.

    "The film is a brilliant example of black comedy, tackling themes of death and despair with wit."
  2. 2

    A work of art or literature that employs black comedy.

    "The play is a darkly humorous black comedy that critiques societal norms."
Advertisement

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the French concept of 'humour noir', coined formally by surrealist writer André Breton in 1935 for his anthology 'Anthologie de l'humour noir'. The English adoption translated the term literally, replacing 'noir' with 'black', reflecting a theatrical and literary genre that treats morbid, taboo, or tragic subjects with bitter amusement.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Black comedy"?

Advertisement

10 Global Lexicons: How "Black comedy" is said worldwide

Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Black comedy"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Black comedy" Synonym Map
Advertisement