comical
/ˈkɑmɪkəl/adjective
comical is spelled C-O-M-I-C-A-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, comical means “Funny, whimsically amusing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in comical?
| Letters | 7: C-O-M-I-C-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,516th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is comical?
Comical appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce comical?
- UK /ˈkɒmɪkəl/
- US /ˈkɑmɪkəl/
Comical has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-comical.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with comical?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as comical from its last stressed vowel (/ɑmɪkəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of comical
- more comical comparative
- most comical superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does comical mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
archaicOriginally, relating to comedy.
It was a comical performance.
- 2
Funny, whimsically amusing.
The tutor excelled in comical scoldings.
- 3
Laughable; ridiculous.
He's just put salt in his tea instead of sugar. What a comical error!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Comical in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | comique |
| German | komödisch, komödial, komisch , lustig , lächerlich |
| Portuguese | cómico, cômico |
| Spanish | cómico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does comical come from?
From Middle English comicalle, from Latin cōmicus + Middle English -alle (modern -al). By surface analysis, comic + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).