humorless

adjective

hu·​mor·​less ˈhyü-mər-ləs 

1

: lacking a sense of humor

2

: lacking humorous characteristics

humorlessly

ˈhyü-mər-ləs-lē 

adverb

humorlessness noun

Synonyms

• earnest
• grave
• no-nonsense
• po-faced [British]
• sedate
• serious
• severe
• sober
• sobersided
• solemn
• staid
• uncomic
• unsmiling
• weighty

Example Sentences

humorless people who can't see the lighter side of life

Recent Examples on the Web

A lot of money has been poured into selling VR as the future of work, with humorless videos of Mark Zuckerberg advancing a bleak vision of face-sized cubicles. —Mikhail Klimentov, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2022

In Russia, Vladimir V. Putin has won the presidency three times against the same hapless candidate, Gennady Zyuganov, a humorless man with a droning, wooden voice conveniently put forward by the Communist Party. —Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2020

Yet writers are eager to join in the jokes about the humorless prude who wants to stifle academic freedom, rather than trying to understand the whole story. —Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2010

Here, though, the stakes are lowered beneath the absurdity line by the relentless mayhem, which is at once cartoonish and mostly humorless. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2023

This is not a humorless book. —Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2022

Brian has personal problems as well; his former wife (Carolina Bartczak) is now remarried to a smarmy businessman (Michael Pena, wasted in a humorless role), and his teenage son Sonny (Charlie Plummer) gets arrested on drug charges after a high-speed chase with cops. —Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Feb. 2022

Righting wrongs — and there are always more than enough to choose from — is virtuous, if sometimes humorless. —Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2022

Anarumo offered a humorless chuckle when asked about the topic on Monday. —Michael Niziolek, cleveland, 25 Jan. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1