as in earnestness
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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
Diya Chacko, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humorlessness
Noun
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Frank, played with endearing earnestness by Bale, is more of a big softie than a monster.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
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The Scream series emerged during the age of the New Irony, survived the ensuing New Sincerity, and made it through several other civilizational cycles of earnestness and self-awareness before landing here in today’s era of Nothing Matters and Everything Sucks.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As Agathe comes to understand the extent of her troubles, Exarchopoulos’ performance achieves a sorrowful gravitas.—
Jon Frosch,
The Hollywood Reporter,
23 Jan. 2023
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But this reboot had gravitas, for Larroquette at least.—
Alexis Soloski,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2023
Noun
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But in all seriousness, don’t sweat it.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
7 Mar. 2026
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Is there any understanding of the seriousness and horror of war?—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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On the smallest scales, structure gets washed out, while on larger scales, structure takes a long time to form, as larger scales plus the finite speed of gravity translate into longer timescales for collapse.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
3 Mar. 2026
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Marshall showed viewers the structural supports of the building that handle gravity loads from the weight of the building and lateral loads due to seismic activity.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The episode starts in earnest when Myki learns about how the other queens voted.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Feb. 2026
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The guard's Basij force likely was key in putting down the demonstrations, starting in earnest from Jan. 8, when authorities cut off the internet and international telephone calls for the nation of 85 million people.—
SAM McNEIL AND JON GAMBRELL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Because of the way the director works, emotions tend to be more discussed than felt, although there’s something about Carla’s desperation that pierces through all the soberness.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Trump has also spoken out in defense of his handling of the various crises facing his administration — but not nearly with the sort of detail and solemnity that wartime presidents usually speak, experts said.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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To that point, Lent is not all solemnity.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humorlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humorlessness. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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