1
as in comedy
humorous entertainment
an actor whose roles range from slapstick to serious drama
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2
as in hijinks
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
a lowbrow comedy that relies heavily on slapstick for its laughs
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in zany
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slapstick
Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
The stark beauty of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist classic, part music hall romp, part abstract painting, was awakened in a production starring two gifted comics who didn’t overplay their slapstick hands, Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandvi.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Yet alongside the slapstick and door-slamming and precarious vocal gymnastics, Will’s production also accessed the original story’s subversiveness, as well as its heartache.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
Mixing drama, slapstick and pathos, Gandolfini stars as a deeply shy, highly allergic Circuit-Shack employee desperate to ask his colleague, played by Olivia Nikkanen, out on a date.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for slapstick
Noun
After an enjoyable slapstick first half, the play veers towards more difficult subjects that are never fully explored.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
The stark beauty of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist classic, part music hall romp, part abstract painting, was awakened in a production starring two gifted comics who didn’t overplay their slapstick hands, Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandvi.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Yet alongside the slapstick and door-slamming and precarious vocal gymnastics, Will’s production also accessed the original story’s subversiveness, as well as its heartache.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024
Mixing drama, slapstick and pathos, Gandolfini stars as a deeply shy, highly allergic Circuit-Shack employee desperate to ask his colleague, played by Olivia Nikkanen, out on a date.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for slapstick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slapstick
Noun
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McElhenney is also the showrunner and star of Apple TV+’s video game workplace comedy Mythic Quest, currently airing its fourth season.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
22 Feb. 2025
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The result was a raucous and at times sentimental at television's most famous comedy hour.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Try to count all the zany knickknacks inside Northeast Pizza.—
Jenna Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
22 Feb. 2025
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In this high-concept action movie with a zany dark heart, labor exploitation hits a new low when workers, or at least their physical forms, become literally disposable.—
Beatrice Loayza,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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White was known for her wry smile and biting humor, which, even in her older years, never dulled our tamed.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
22 Feb. 2025
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Laugh often Studies from the Harvard Business Review reveal that teams led by founders who encourage playfulness and humor are 30% more productive and report significantly higher job satisfaction.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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But Victor leans less into clownish mortification than her predecessors, making room instead for a delicate quietude and sincerity.—
Jon Frosch,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
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Redheads often fielded comments related to having a hot temper, being clownish, weirdness, Irishness, not capable of being in the sun, being wild (among women), wimpy (among men), and intellectually superior.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
19 Jan. 2025
Noun
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These bits of satire don’t betray a lack of respect for the films that came before The Monkey so much as an understanding that the King adaptation is in dire need of a refresh.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
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If Demi Moore wasn’t going to win for her career-reviving performance in the horror satire The Substance, then surely British voters would reward Marianne Jean-Baptiste for her searing depiction of depression in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths.—
Sarah Crompton,
Vogue,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Needless to say, TikTok users couldn't cope with the amusing video, and it's already generated mor than 2,200 comments online.—
Alyce Collins,
Newsweek,
20 Feb. 2025
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To the latter, watching Shauna blankly absorb an update about her daughter dumping a bag of animal guts onto a bully at school is both amusing and frustrating.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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There are no gilded gates here, but there is one heck of a party, complete with serenading busts, ballroom dancers, excitable opera singers, drunken buffoonery and portraits locked in an endless duel.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025
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What’s so special about Britain’s patron wanker of bighearted buffoonery?—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The documentary can be irksome, and its chronology a touch confusing, but Spiegelman is an entertaining interlocutor, and so are many of the artists and critics who testify to his greatness here.—
Manohla Dargis,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
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There was also the potential for an entertaining scenario in which Canada might have pulled its goalie in regulation if it was tied late against Finland.—
Michael Russo,
The Athletic,
20 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to slapstick
Cite this Entry
“Slapstick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slapstick. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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