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
Charles Dickensthe uncertain humors of nature
humored; humoring
ˈhyüm-riŋ 
ˈyüm-,
ˈhyü-mə-,
ˈyü-
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
William Bartram
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
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 WebScott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Apr. 2024
His stories were sometimes graphic—people dying prematurely, or dying in tremendous pain—but always tinged with a lightness and humor.
—Christopher Fiorello, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
The book will also include some of the politician's humor throughout, and net proceeds from the title's publishing will be donated to the Capital Region Community Foundation during her remaining time as governor.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
In Hollywood, Drew cut her teeth working on productions from alt-comedy idols like André, Nathan Fielder, Tim Robinson, Scott Aukerman, Sacha Baron Cohen and Tim and Eric — largely editing projects that necessitated specific timing to make the offbeat humor hit perfectly.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
Actors like Tricia Helfer and Grace Park in the former, and Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton in the latter, imbued their respective AI characters with warmth, empathy and humor.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
Electricity, the subject of much teeth-sucking and dark humor, is expensive and erratic.
—Gaiutra Bahadur Keisha Scarville, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
And Schwarzenegger is using humor to assuage his fans’ fears.
—Sara Vallone, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
Edutainment helps overcome these barriers through humor, emotion, storytelling, and more to speak to universal human experiences.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
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
Noun
The Cannes audience gave the series a warm reception, responding to the show’s arch humor, 1950s retro style and occasional OTT violence, elements faithfully adapted from the video game.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Apr. 2024
His stories were sometimes graphic—people dying prematurely, or dying in tremendous pain—but always tinged with a lightness and humor.
—Christopher Fiorello, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
The book will also include some of the politician's humor throughout, and net proceeds from the title's publishing will be donated to the Capital Region Community Foundation during her remaining time as governor.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
In Hollywood, Drew cut her teeth working on productions from alt-comedy idols like André, Nathan Fielder, Tim Robinson, Scott Aukerman, Sacha Baron Cohen and Tim and Eric — largely editing projects that necessitated specific timing to make the offbeat humor hit perfectly.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
Actors like Tricia Helfer and Grace Park in the former, and Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton in the latter, imbued their respective AI characters with warmth, empathy and humor.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
Electricity, the subject of much teeth-sucking and dark humor, is expensive and erratic.
—Gaiutra Bahadur Keisha Scarville, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
And Schwarzenegger is using humor to assuage his fans’ fears.
—Sara Vallone, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
Edutainment helps overcome these barriers through humor, emotion, storytelling, and more to speak to universal human experiences.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'humor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to humor
Dictionary Entries Near humor
Cite this Entry
“Humor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humor. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
adjective
-ləs
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
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
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