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
cartoonishly
adverb
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
David Shipley, The Post’s opinion editor, said the cartoon was rejected because the section had published a column on the same subject and had already scheduled another one for publication.
—
Nico Grant, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
The other subservient billionaires in the cartoon include Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the LA Times.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 8 Jan. 2025
The album’s artwork depicts a cartoon version of the messy-haired singer with an angel and devil on each of his shoulders — demonstrating its division of impassioned feel-good love songs and down-tempo ballads of loss and defeat.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2025
His first swing at a franchise QB (Wilson) missed so badly that cartoon characters pointed and guffawed.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for cartoon 
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Nico Grant, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
The other subservient billionaires in the cartoon include Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the LA Times.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 8 Jan. 2025
The album’s artwork depicts a cartoon version of the messy-haired singer with an angel and devil on each of his shoulders — demonstrating its division of impassioned feel-good love songs and down-tempo ballads of loss and defeat.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2025
His first swing at a franchise QB (Wilson) missed so badly that cartoon characters pointed and guffawed.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for cartoon
Dictionary Entries Near cartoon
Cite this Entry
“Cartoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cartoon. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
3
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
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