Funny

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Funny

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective and noun

Pronunciation

FUN-ee  /ˈfʌni/

Definition

Causing laughter or amusement; difficult to explain or understand; strange or suspicious. As a noun (informal, plural funnies): comic strips in a newspaper.

Plain meaning

Funny means amusing or comical. But it also means strange or suspicious — there's something funny about that deal. Both senses are common.

Register

Neutral and ubiquitous across both senses. The strange sense is slightly informal but very common in everyday speech.