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humor definition

hu·mor (hyo̵̅o̅′mər, yo̵̅o̅′-)

noun

  1. any fluid or juice of an animal or plant; esp., any of the four fluids (cardinal humors) formerly considered responsible for one's health and disposition; blood, phlegm, choler, or melancholy
    1. a person's disposition or temperament
    2. a mood; state of mind
  3. whim; fancy; caprice
  4. the quality that makes something seem funny, amusing, or ludicrous; comicality
    1. the ability to perceive, appreciate, or express what is funny, amusing, or ludicrous
    2. the expression of this in speech, writing, or action
  6. any fluid or fluidlike substance of the body; blood, lymph, bile, etc. the aqueous humor

Etymology: ME < OFr < L humor, umor, moisture, fluid, akin to umere, to be moist < IE base *wegw-, *ugw-, moist, moisten, wake, Gr hygros, moist, fluid, Du wak, wet

transitive verb

  1. to comply with the mood or whim of (another); indulge
  2. to act in agreement with the nature of; adapt oneself to

Related Forms:

humor Idioms

out of humor

not in a good mood; cross; disagreeable

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms humor idiom

medical humor definition - medical

humor Synonyms

humor

n.

  1. Comedy

    amusement, jesting, raillery, joking, merriment, buffoonery, tomfoolery, badinage, clowning, jocularity, jocoseness, farce, drollery, facetiousness, black humor, salt, whimsicality, comedy stuff*, laugh business*; see also entertainment 1, fun.

  2. An example of humor

    witticism, pleasantry, banter; see joke 1, 2.

  3. The ability to appreciate comedy

    good humor, sense of humor, wittiness, high spirits, merry disposition, joviality, jolliness, jocularity, jocundity, gaiety, joyfulness, playfulness, happy frame of mind, jauntiness; see also happiness 1.

  4. Mood

    disposition, frame of mind, temper; see mood 1. See syn. study at mood, wit.

out of humor

cross, disagreeable, grouchy; see irritable.


humor

v.

indulge, pamper, baby, play up to, gratify, please, pet, coddle, tickle, gladden, mollycoddle, spoil, oblige, comply with, appease, placate, soften, be playful with; see also comfort, entertain 1, satisfy 1.

Antonyms provoke, anger, enrage.

humor suggests compliance with the mood or whim of another they humored the dying man; indulge implies a yielding to the wishes or desires of oneself or another, as because of a weak will or an amiable nature; pamper implies overindulgence or excessive gratification; spoil emphasizes the harm done to the personality or character by overindulgence or excessive attention grandparents often spoil children; baby suggests the sort of pampering and devoted care lavished on infants and connotes a potential loss of self-reliance because he was sickly, his mother continued to baby him


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

humor Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • appreciate: Boxed Material: How does the brain appreciate humor?

Adjective modifier

  • deadpan: He was ruthless when needed, and his deadpan humor that was a trademark of Connery's returned.

Modifies a noun

  • cartoonist: The Cartoonists Rights Network's mission is the protection of editorial and humor cartoonists from any form of human or civil rights abuses.. .

Noun used with modifier

  • gallows: The Simon Wiesenthal Center dismissed the contest as " gallows humor.
humor usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"humor." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/humor>

APA Style

humor. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/humor

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