HUMORLESSNESS Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

humorlessness

noun

as in earnestness

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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 humorlessness One of my major disappointments in a lot of the writing was its humorlessness. — Diya Chacko, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for humorlessness

Noun

Elizabeth Strout illustrates a kind man with an endearing earnestness about him who struggles with the fact that the world is not so simple anymore.

— Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2026
The diaries—particularly in Julian Sachs’s unexpurgated version, which captures Pavese’s alternating earnestness, archness, and pungent vulgarity—pose something of a problem.

— Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of earnestness

Noun

As Agathe comes to understand the extent of her troubles, Exarchopoulos’ performance achieves a sorrowful gravitas.

— Jon Frosch, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2023
Henriksen plays his part to the hilt here, bringing a gravitas that few actors would consider bringing to the role of a shoot-'em-up movie villain.

— Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2023

Definition of gravitas

Noun

The organizations that treat documentation with the same seriousness as the investigation itself can end up in a stronger position, whatever the outcome.

— Beth Worthy, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
The name of the collection parodies the seriousness of the museum, even as the collection itself is the kind of thing that has traditionally gotten scant attention within actual institutions.

— Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of seriousness

Noun

By May 2026, all 11 of xAI’s original cofounders had departed the company, a cascade that began in earnest in February when Tony Wu, described as one of the most operationally central cofounders, announced his resignation.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 June 2026
Modern viticulture began in earnest here in the 1970s before blossoming in the ’90s.

— Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 22 June 2026

Definition of earnest

Noun

Adding to the solemnity of the occasion was a string quartet that played two slow movements from Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite.

— Peter E. Gordon, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026
What’s also obvious from Mel’s photography is the solemnity of these places and the humanity of those living and working within them.

— Stephanie Hanes, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of solemnity

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humorless

humorlessness

humorous

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Style

“Humorlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humorlessness. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of humorlessness

noun

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