cartoon

noun

car·​toon kär-ˈtün 

plural cartoons

1

: a preparatory design, drawing, or painting (as for a fresco)

2

a

: a drawing intended as satire, caricature, or humor

a political cartoon

a cartoon drawing

b

: a group of drawings in narrative sequence : comic strip

3

: a video (such as a television show or movie) that is made from a series of drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of inanimate objects (such as puppets) and that simulates movement by slight progressive changes in each frame : animated cartoon

4

: a ludicrously simplistic, unrealistic, or one-dimensional portrayal or version

The film's villain is an entertaining cartoon.

cartoon verb

cartooning

kär-ˈtü-niŋ 

noun

cartoonish

kär-ˈtü-nish 

adjective

cartoonishly adverb

cartoonist

kär-ˈtü-nist 

noun

cartoonlike

kär-ˈtün-ˌlīk 

adjective

cartoony

kär-ˈtü-nē 

adjective

Synonyms

• delineation
• drawing
• sketch

Examples of cartoon in a Sentence

She enjoys reading the cartoons in the Sunday paper.

The kids are watching cartoons.

Recent Examples on the Web

Continue reading … Click here for more cartoons… MEDIA OPEN SECRET – New Yorker writer admits he's never met a Trump supporter at work in his 15-year media career. —Fox News, 22 Oct. 2024

By this fourth installment, Freddy has morphed from a terrifying, teen-murdering monster into a cartoon character throwing on a pair of shades and waving in the summertime. —Michael Lee Simpson, EW.com, 22 Oct. 2024

My eyes bugged out of my head like a cartoon character. —R. Eric Thomas, The Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2024

To continue enjoying The New Yorker after the Festival—including in-depth reporting, insightful cultural coverage, cartoons, crosswords, podcasts, and more—sign up for our daily newsletter. —The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian cartone pasteboard, cartoon, augmentative of carta leaf of paper — more at card entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1684, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cartoon

• animated cartoon
• strip cartoon

Kids Definition

cartoon

noun

car·​toon kär-ˈtün 

1

: a design, drawing, or painting made as a model for the finished work

2

a

: a drawing intended as a humorous comment on public affairs

b

: comic strip

3

: animated cartoon

cartoonist

-ˈtü-nəst 

noun

Etymology

from Italian cartone "pasteboard, a sketch of a planned drawing or painting done on heavy paper," from carta "sheet of paper," from Latin charta "piece of papyrus" — related to card entry 3, carton