Word.ws English Dictionary

comedy of errors

Syllables: com·e·dy of err·orsUK/ˌkɒmɪdi əv ˈɛɹəz//ˌkɑmədi əv ˈɛɹəɹz/

comedy of errors noun: a comedy in which the humour is due to misinterpretations, mistaken identity, etc.

Noun

comedy of errors (plural comedies of errors)

  1. (also) A comedy in which the humour is due to misinterpretations, mistaken identity, etc.
    • [I]n ſome comedyes of Errors, […] the Miſtres and the Maide change habits […]1605, Francis Bacon, “The Second Booke”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for...
    • VVhat Comedies of errors ſvvell the ſtage / VVith your moſt publike vices, vvhen the age / Dares perſonate in action, for, your eies / Ranke Sceanes of your luſt-ſvveating qualities: […]1616, Robert Anton, “The Phylosophers Fift Satyr of Venus”, in The Philosophers Satyrs, London: […] T[homas] C[reede] and B[ernard] A[lsop] for Robert Iackson, […], →OCLC, page 51
  2. (broadly, idiomatic) A series of amusing or farcical events involving awkward missteps or other mistakes.
    • It ſhall not be amiſſe (for him that vvill read) firſt to beholde this ſhort Comedy of Errors, and vvhere the greateſt enter, to giue them inſtead of a hiſſe, a gentle correction.1601 (first performance), Thomas Dekker, “Ad Lectorem”, in Satiro-mastix. Or The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet. […], London: […] [Edward Allde] for Edward White, […], published 1602, →OCLC...
    • I think I have seen such comedies of errors going on in the world.1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Sentimental and Otherwise”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 108

Examples of comedy of errors in a sentence

  • [S]uch a comedy of errors, brought about by back doors, private ſtair-caſes, and falſe keys, might pleaſe the romantic taſte of the Spaniards, but vvill never bear the teſt of Engliſh criticiſm.1767, “The Perplexities: A Comedy”, in The Theatrical Campaign, for MDCCLXVI and MDCCLXVII. […], London: […] S. Bladon, […], →OCLC, pages...
  • By that time those who had remained so long began to view the game as what it really was, a comedy of errors, and got lots of fun out of it.1914, Ralph Henry Barbour, “Sawyer Vows Revenge”, in Left End Edwards, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, →OCLC, page 158:
  • Reference to Flamborough brings to mind an amusing comedy of errors, which although not strictly a matter of station-naming, at least concerns station names.1951 March, M. D. Greville, “The Nomenclature of Railway Stations”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 192:
  • What follows is a painful comedy of errors.1965 June 3, Eliot Fremont-Smith, “Books: A way back to life [review of August Is a Wicked Month (1965) by Edna O’Brien]”, in The New York...

Forms of comedy of errors

pluralcomedies of errors

Origin of comedy of errors

From comedy + of + errors, probably coined by the English playwright William Shakespeare (c. 1564 – 1616) as the title of the play The Comedy of Errors (written c. 1594; published 1623), about two sets of identical twins separated at birth who are involved in a series of mistaken identities.

Words that rhyme with comedy of errors

Questions about comedy of errors

What does comedy of errors mean?
Comedy of errors means a comedy in which the humour is due to misinterpretations, mistaken identity, etc.
How do you use comedy of errors in a sentence?
[S]uch a comedy of errors, brought about by back doors, private ſtair-caſes, and falſe keys, might pleaſe the romantic taſte of the Spaniards, but vvill never bear the teſt of Engliſh criticiſm.
What part of speech is comedy of errors?
Comedy of errors is a noun.
How do you pronounce comedy of errors?
Comedy of errors is pronounced /ˌkɒmɪdi əv ˈɛɹəz/ (UK).
What is the plural of comedy of errors?
The plural of comedy of errors is comedies of errors.

Words near comedy of errors in the dictionary

  1. comedy duos
  2. comedy equals tragedy plus time
  3. comedy gold
  4. comedy mask
  5. comedy masks
  6. comedy of errors
  7. comedy of manners
  8. Comegys
  9. Comegyses
  10. comeing
  11. COMELEC

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: comedy of errors (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-comedy of errors.wav, En-au-comedy of errors.ogg.

Cite this entry: “comedy of errors.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/comedy_of_errors. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.