as in solemn
not joking or playful in mood or manner
humorless people who can't see the lighter side of life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of humorless
Worst of all, Phillips has intentionally or unintentionally created a bizarro, humorless version of My Cousin Vinny.
—
Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 4 Oct. 2024
The Shoshone and Paiute characters, meanwhile, are solemnly noble or dangerously impassioned but invariably humorless.
—Mike Hale, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
All this alarm and losing has made Democratic politics a rather miserable and humorless endeavor.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2025
But the finished product feels relatively humorless, leaving the cast looking silly in scenes that might conceivably have flown if played as deadpan comedy — not a tenor achieved or seemingly even aimed for here.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humorless
Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 4 Oct. 2024
The Shoshone and Paiute characters, meanwhile, are solemnly noble or dangerously impassioned but invariably humorless.
—Mike Hale, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
All this alarm and losing has made Democratic politics a rather miserable and humorless endeavor.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2025
But the finished product feels relatively humorless, leaving the cast looking silly in scenes that might conceivably have flown if played as deadpan comedy — not a tenor achieved or seemingly even aimed for here.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humorless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humorless
Adjective
-
In the procedural drama, Rodríguez brings to life a multi-layered and solemn character shaped by a traumatic childhood — abused within the foster care system, with no knowledge of his origins, and struggling with severe dyslexia.—
Veronica Villafañe,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
-
This protection -- known as the seal of confession -- is among the oldest and most solemn obligations in the Catholic Church, grounded in the Church’s teaching that, in the sacrament, penitents are confidentially confessing to and receiving forgiveness from God.—
Hiram Sasser,
National Review,
15 June 2025
Adjective
-
Historians often describe Flammarion more as a popularizer than a serious scientist, but this should not diminish his accomplishments.—
Matthew Shindell,
Space.com,
29 June 2025
-
To be sure, there have been positive signs that the revival was working, not least because the Tata’s were prepared to deploy serious capital and effort to back its ambitions.—
Vasuki Shastry,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
However, strikes between the two nations appeared to continue—leading to a stern rebuke from the president on Tuesday morning.—
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 June 2025
-
Born in Philadelphia in October 1888, Breen shuttled between jobs in public relations, newspaper journalism, and the U.S. consular service, yet the connecting thread was always his deep, proud, stern Irish Catholicism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
The portrait's lack of background and Trump's unsmiling gaze further differentiates it from those of his predecessors.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
4 June 2025
-
And often next to Ed, holding a single malt, there would be an unsmiling writer of great pretension looking down at you from a great height.—
Gary Shteyngart,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
The way this plays out is via a series of extremely earnest conversations about feelings, something women tend to be better at than men just given the way they are socialized.—
Rich Juzwiak,
Time,
25 June 2025
-
That means energy prices may be volatile until conditions settle down – even as summer vacations start in earnest and a massive heat wave grips the central and eastern parts of the country.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Humorless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humorless. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share