humor

play

noun hu·mor \ ˈhyü-mər , ˈyü- \

Definition of humor

1 a :a normal functioning bodily semifluid or fluid (such as the blood or lymph)

b physiology :a secretion (such as a hormone) that is an excitant of activity

2 a in medieval physiology :a fluid or juice of an animal or plant; specifically :one of the four fluids entering into the constitution of the body and determining by their relative proportions a person's health and temperament

b :characteristic or habitual disposition or bent :temperament

of cheerful humor

c :an often temporary state of mind imposed especially by circumstances

was in no humor to listen

d :a sudden, unpredictable, or unreasoning inclination :whim

… conceived the humor of impeaching casual passers-by … and wreaking vengeance on them.
—Charles Dickens

the uncertain humors of nature

3 a :that quality which appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous :a funny or amusing quality

Try to appreciate the humor of the situation.

b :the mental faculty of discovering, expressing, or appreciating the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous :the ability to be funny or to be amused by things that are funny

a guy with a great sense of humor

c :something that is or is designed to be comical or amusing

The book is a collection of American humor.

not a fan of the comedian's brand of humor

— out of humor

:out of sorts

See humor defined for English-language learners

See humor defined for kids

Examples of humor in a Sentence

He didn't appreciate the humor of the situation.
Someday, you'll see the humor in this.
Everyone likes the gentle humor of his stories of family life.
She doesn't care for ethnic humor.
The book is a collection of American humor.
His humor is one of his most attractive qualities.

Recent Examples of humor from the Web

Rossi and Okpokwasili reduce black cultural affectation to a mode that whites can easily comprehend by denying the sustenance of humor and catharsis that is the entire raison d’être of Girls Trip.

— armond white, National Review, "Girls Trip and Bronx Gothic: Two Visions of Post-Obama Black Empowerment," 14 July 2017
This week’s bombshell has the feel of gallows humor.

— frank rich, Daily Intelligencer, "Watching the Downfall of a Presidency in Real Time," 12 July 2017
To start the humor in this film was very fitting to the character of Peter Parker and seemed like a comedy blended with an action packed adventure even from the very beginning of the film.

— Teenlink, "'Spider-Man Homecoming' is everything a Spider-Man Movie Should Be," 7 July 2017
Laugh a little The New Yorker is returning to its roots with more humor—comic essays and cartoons.

— claire zillman, Fortune, "The World’s Most Powerful Women: July 3," 2 July 2017
She's parlayed her section of the internet into a bona fide community, using humor, charm, and her own vulnerability as currency.

— anne t. donahue, Cosmopolitan, "Busy Philipps Now Gets Stopped on the Street by Fans of Her Instagram Stories," 30 June 2017
Pretty says he's known for having a sense of humor on his spots, and people seeing it all over the country wouldn't be aware of that.

— luke o'neil, Esquire, "R.I.P., Weather Boi, the Funniest Meme We Barely Got to Know," 29 June 2017
In the midst of all of this, don’t forget your sense of humor.

— astro poets, Bon Appetit, "Run Outside, Because Your July Horoscopes Are Here with Ice Cream Truck Treats," 29 June 2017
His humor focuses largely on his five-child family and fat references (to himself).

— bill brownlee and dan kelly,, kansascity.com, "Ink picks: 10 events not to miss in July," 28 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'humor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

In the Middle Ages it was believed that a person’s health and disposition were the result of a balance of four fluids in the body. These fluids were called humors, from the Latin word humor, meaning “moisture.” The fluids were blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. If a person had a cheerful disposition, it was said to be a result of an excess of blood. A sluggish disposition was the result of an excess of phlegm. A hot-tempered disposition was said to be caused by an excess of yellow bile, and the disposition of a gloomy person was the result of an excess of black bile. In time, humor came to be used as a general term for “disposition or temperament.” From this developed the sense of “a changeable state of mind” or “mood.” More recently humor has come to refer to something that is funny.

Origin and Etymology of humor

Middle English humour, from Anglo-French umor, umour, from Medieval Latin & Latin; Medieval Latin humor, from Latin humor, umor moisture; akin to Old Norse vǫkr damp, Latin humēre to be moist, and perhaps to Greek hygros wet

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

humor Synonyms

Synonyms

comedy, comic, comicality, drollery, drollness, funniness, hilariousness, humorousness, richness, uproariousness

Antonyms

pathos

Related Words

amusement, enjoyment, fun, pleasure; absurdity, irony, laughableness, ludicrousness, ridiculousness; whimsicality, wittiness, wryness; burlesque, caricature, farce, jest, lampoon, parody, satire, slapstick, spoof, takeoff; jocularity, jokiness, playfulness, waggishness

Near Antonyms

agony, anguish, dolor, grief, heartache, heartbreak, misery, sorrow, torment, torture, tribulation, woe; gravity, seriousness, soberness, solemnity, solemnness, somberness

Synonym Discussion of humor

wit, humor, irony, sarcasm, satire, repartee mean a mode of expression intended to arouse amusement. wit suggests the power to evoke laughter by remarks showing verbal felicity or ingenuity and swift perception especially of the incongruous.

- a playful wit

humor implies an ability to perceive the ludicrous, the comical, and the absurd in human life and to express these usually without bitterness.

- a sense of humor

irony applies to a manner of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is seemingly expressed.

- the irony of the title

sarcasm applies to expression frequently in the form of irony that is intended to cut or wound.

- given to heartless sarcasm

satire applies to writing that exposes or ridicules conduct, doctrines, or institutions either by direct criticism or more often through irony, parody, or caricature.

- a satire on the Congress

repartee implies the power of answering quickly, pointedly, or wittily.

- a dinner guest noted for repartee

humor

verb

Definition of humor

humored; humoring play \ˈhyüm-riŋ, ˈyüm-, ˈhyü-mə-, ˈyü-\

transitive verb

1 :to soothe or content (someone) by indulgence :to comply with the temperment or inclinations of

The only way to get along with him is to humor him.

I know you don't agree, but just humor me.

2 :to adapt oneself to

yielding to, and humoring the motion of the limbs and twigs
—William Bartram

See humor defined for English-language learners

Examples of humor in a Sentence

The only way to get along with him is to humor him.
humored her grandfather by listening to his war stories for the hundredth time

Recent Examples of humor from the Web

O’Connor, strong and good-humored, is partially disabled by cerebral palsy.

— mike sager, Smithsonian, "Will the Public Ever Get to See the “Dueling Dinosaurs”?," 28 June 2017
So as to keep on humoring us, then, maybe Congress should stick around for the summer.

— elaine godfrey, The Atlantic, "Q of the Week: Should Congress Take Their Summer Recess?," 23 June 2017
Goldwyn might have been humoring Busch by agreeing to watch the newsreels in a private screening room at his studio in West Hollywood.

— richard sandomir, SI.com, "How Gary Cooper, Pride of the Yankees film became the accepted reality of Lou Gehrig's life," 21 June 2017
During a composer’s lifetime, even from one performance to the next, an opera might undergo changes to accommodate a singer who couldn’t hit a high note, or to humor a diva who could.

— emily langer, Washington Post, "Philip Gossett, musical sleuth who revived forgotten operas, dies at 75," 16 June 2017
The kids were quick to see it as some sort of punishment, and my husband mostly played along to humor me.

— nina kokotas hahn, Condé Nast Traveler, "How My Family Survived (and Enjoyed) a Tech-Free Vacation," 15 June 2017
Humoring the president is presumably not a top priority for Republicans, who already have their hands full.

— abigail tracy, The Hive, "Trump Throws His Own Health-Care Plan Under the Bus," 14 June 2017
Everyone who knew Cornell in those early years describes him as kind and good-humored, but also somewhat distant.

— mark yarm, Billboard, "Becoming Chris Cornell: Inside the Early Days of Soundgarden," 25 May 2017
STEPHEN COLBERT Grand Plan: Humor you into supporting teachers through DonorsChoose.org.

— Town & Country, "How Mark Zuckerberg, Stephen Colbert, Karlie Kloss, and More Are Changing Philanthropy," 11 May 2016

Origin and Etymology of humor

see ¹humor

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1597

See Words from the same year

humor Synonyms

Synonyms

cater (to), gratify, indulge

Related Words

bask, luxuriate, revel, wallow; coddle, mollycoddle, pamper, spoil; delight, please, pleasure; sate, satiate, satisfy

Near Antonyms

bridle, check, constrain, curb, inhibit, restrain, stifle

Synonym Discussion of humor

indulge, pamper, humor, spoil, baby, mollycoddle mean to show undue favor to a person's desires and feelings. indulge implies excessive compliance and weakness in gratifying another's or one's own desires.

- indulged myself with food at the slightest excuse

pamper implies inordinate gratification of desire for luxury and comfort with consequent enervating effect.

- pampered by the amenities of modern living

humor stresses a yielding to a person's moods or whims.

- humored him by letting him tell the story

spoil stresses the injurious effects on character by indulging or pampering.

- foolish parents spoil their children

baby suggests excessive care, attention, or solicitude.

- babying students by grading too easily

mollycoddle suggests an excessive degree of care and attention to another's health or welfare.

- refused to mollycoddle her malingering son

HUMOR Defined for English Language Learners

humor

play

noun

Definition of humor for English Language Learners

: a funny or amusing quality
: jokes, funny stories, etc., of a particular kind
: the ability to be funny or to be amused by things that are funny

humor

verb

Definition of humor for English Language Learners

: to try to please or satisfy (someone) by doing what is wanted

HUMOR Defined for Kids

humor

play

noun hu·mor \ ˈhyü-mər , ˈyü- \

Definition of humor for Students

1 :the amusing quality of something

She couldn't see the humor of the situation.

2 :the ability to see or tell the amusing quality of things

3 :state of mind :mood

… they were not in a very good humor because they had been arguing …
—Robert McClosky, Homer Price

—

humorless

\-ləs\ adjective

humor

verb

Definition of humor for Students

humored; humoring

:to give in to the wishes of

I humored her and listened to her ridiculous idea.

Medical Dictionary

humor

noun hu·mor

variants: or chiefly British humour play \ˈhyü-mər, ˈyü-\

medical Definition of humor

1 a :a normal functioning bodily semifluid or fluid (as the blood or lymph)

b :a secretion (as a hormone) that is an excitant of activity

2 in ancient and medieval physiology :a fluid or juice of an animal or plant; specifically :one of the four fluids that were believed to enter into the constitution of the body and to determine by their relative proportions a person's health and temperament — see black bile, blood 3, phlegm 1, yellow bile