humor

1 of 2

noun

hu·​mor ˈhyü-mər 

ˈyü-

plural humors

1

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 woman 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

2

a

: an often temporary state of mind imposed especially by circumstances

was in no humor to listen

b

: characteristic or habitual disposition or bent : temperament

of cheerful humor

c

in ancient and medieval physiology : 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 entry 1 sense 4a(2), phlegm sense 2, yellow bile

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

: 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

humor

2 of 2

verb

humored; humoring ˈhyüm-riŋ 

ˈyüm-,

ˈhyü-mə-,

ˈyü-

transitive verb

1

: to soothe or content (someone) by indulgence : to comply with the temperament 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

Phrases

out of humor

: out of sorts

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.

Synonyms

Noun

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

Verb

• cater (to)
• gratify
• indulge

Choose the Right Synonym for humor

Noun

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

Verb

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

Examples of humor in a Sentence

Noun

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.

Verb

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 on the Web

Noun

Wells’ friend Mary Church Terrell (Anastacia McCleskey) takes a more accommodating view of the new suffragists and her relationship with Wells echoes the Paul-Catt split, but one with a greater degree of understanding, respect and humor. —Frank Rizzo, Variety, 19 Apr. 2024

There’s a glee in the Nazi killing and an exceptionally dry humor that is English through and through, but Ritchie strikes a tone that rides the line between self-serious and self-consciously humorous. —Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024

With 2023’s compelling Jake Gyllenhaal vehicle The Covenant, Guy Ritchie took a more serious dramatic turn, away from the flashy action, glib humor and mashup of period settings with contemporary attitude that had characterized many of his biggest commercial successes. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024

Thankfully, the story of Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga's (Danielle Fishel) daughter, Riley (Rowan Blanchard), keeps the humor and heart of the original series alive for a whole new generation of viewers. —Ew Staff, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2024

But the humor concealed a relentless dedication that could mean long hours grinding away at stories and challenging sources and story subjects to get at the truth, Morrissey and Herald colleagues recalled. —Sarah Moreno, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024

The 79-year-old Michael Douglas convincingly plays a septuagenarian Franklin and brings in some of the Franklin-esque humor that was sorely lacking in Ken Burns’ version—historically accurate fart jokes and all. —Craig Bruce Smith, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024

Bohjalian brings a propulsive vitality and a sly humor to a surprisingly moving tale. —Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024

Of the Last Human Being pushes Sleepytime’s mingling of humor and heaviness to new extremes. —Brad Sanders, SPIN, 10 Apr. 2024

Verb

And while Slaughter is happy to humor conversation about what goes on behind the curtain in pro wrestling, his perspective will always be doused with portions of his onscreen character. —Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

Still resistant but eager to humor his new boss, Manilow spent the day trying to capture the song’s folk-rock grit. —Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Jan. 2024

Hugging, humoring, and emulating can be humiliating because Trump’s erratic behavior requires frequent flip-flops. —Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024

The second approach for dealing with Trump involved hugging and humoring, a strategy that appealed to leaders with personalities that were well matched to Trump’s. —Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024

The conversation plays out in full and without commentary: The irony of having to humor the advances of one man to prove those of another is plain and startling, though Ito, long hardened to such cruelties, also finds dry, mirthless humor in them. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 26 Jan. 2024

Sam wavers between rolling her eyes and humoring them, seemingly settling into a familiar pattern of providing the entertainment that dates back to her childhood. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Jan. 2024

Audra spoke with an air of patience, like one humoring a small child. —Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023

The episode mines humor out of Boimler and Mariner’s starry-eyed interactions with their heroes — like Anson Mount’s Capt. Pike, Ethan Peck’s Spock, Rebecca Romijn’s Number One, and Celia Rose Gooding’s Uhura. —Adam B. Vary, Variety, 25 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

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

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2c

Verb

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing humor

• aqueous humor
• gallows humor
• good humor
• out of humor
• sense of humor
• vitreous humor

Kids Definition

humor

1 of 2 noun

hu·​mor ˈhyü-mər 

ˈyü-

1

: a changeable state of mind often influenced by circumstances

in a bad humor

2

: the amusing quality of things

the humor of a situation

3

: the power to see or tell about the amusing or comic side of things

4

: something that is humorous

humorless

-ləs

adjective

humorlessness noun

humor

2 of 2 verb

humored; humoring ˈhyüm-(ə-)riŋ 

ˈyüm-

: to go along with the wishes or mood of

humor a sick person

Etymology

Noun

Middle English humour "one of the four bodily fluids thought to affect a person's health," from early French umor, umour (same meaning), derived from Latin humor, umor "moisture"

Word Origin

In the Middle Ages it was believed that a person's health and disposition were the result of a balance or imbalance of four fluids in the body. These fluids were called "humors," from the Latin word humor, meaning "moisture." These fluids were blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. If a person had a cheerful, confident disposition, it was said to be a result of an excess of blood. Such a person was called "sanguine," from the Latin word sanguis, meaning "blood." A sluggish disposition was said to be the result of an excess of phlegm. A person having such a disposition was called "phlegmatic," from the Greek word phlegma, meaning "flame, phlegm." A fiery, hot-tempered disposition was said to be caused by an excess of yellow bile. A person with this disposition was said to be "choleric," from the Greek word cholē, meaning "bile." The disposition of a gloomy, depressed person was said to be the result of an excess of black bile. Such a person was called "melancholy," from the Greek words melan-, meaning "black," and cholē, meaning "bile." In time the word 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.

Medical Definition

humor

noun

hu·​mor

variants or chiefly British humour

ˈhyü-mər  ˈyü- 

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 : 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 sense 3, phlegm sense 2, yellow bile