dark comedy
3
5.3
- noun
- /dɑrk ˈkɒmədi/
:
comedia negra
- Although United States of Tara's creators emphasize that the story is a dark comedy, not a documentary, they claim to have consulted DID patients and experts in developing the series ("Diablo Cody").
I love, like dark films, dark comedies.
- I love, like dark films, dark comedies.
- So I'd love to do like a comedy, like a kind of punch drunk love ask, you know, dark comedy or something like that.
- There's always been a subgroup of people that respond well to the sort of quirky dark comedies or just films that dive deep into that.
Examples
-
Over the last few years, I've become a fan of the weird subgenre of black humor or dark comedy films that have become all the rage.
Blog text (6) -
By writing a dark comedy about the fell fate of America, he cut through confused sentimentality to reveal the roots of a clear and present danger.
Fiction book (1995) -
For example, last week, I wanted to watch a romantic comedy, and he wanted to watch a dark comedy.
-
According to Sky Arts HD, the movie's a dark comedy about the Russian Revolution.
Blog text (32) -
And so Lemon is a dark comedy about this fear at arriving in a life meant for someone else.
-
The new dark comedy about a night gone awry offers vital lessons underneath all the excess.
Blog text (30) -
The overall tone of the production uncertainly wavers between dark comedy and melodrama.
Blog text (13) -
An animated dark comedy about a vacationing couple's encounter with a man they believe to be the Zodiac Killer.
Blog text (24) -
But order does not bring down the curtain on Animal House, a dark comedy recounting the misadventures of a raucous fraternity at a small liberal arts college circa 1963.
Academic text (1997) -
The film brilliantly blends laughter and sorrow, making it an unforgettable dark comedy that challenges viewers with its edgy humor.
Synonyms
3
6.3
A play or film that makes serious subjects, especially taboo ones, seem funny
3
6.5
Jokes about serious or sad topics that make people laugh
3
8.4
Jokes about very serious or sad events that help people cope
How Dark
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'dark' (gloomy, serious, or disturbing) with 'comedy' (a humorous genre): learners can infer it refers to humor about bleak, taboo, or grim subjects. This adjective+noun composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g., 'black comedy') and follows normal semantic composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words will likely understand it.
Etymology
Dark comedy joins dark, meaning 'grim' or 'serious', and comedy, meaning 'funny'. Picture a comedian telling jokes in a dim room about sad or shocking things; the surprise of laughing at a 'dark' subject is the memory hook, so dark comedy means using humor about 'disturbing' or 'taboo' subjects.