humorous
1 Americanadjective
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funny; comical; amusing
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displaying or creating humour
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archaic another word for capricious
Related Words
Humorous, witty, facetious, waggish imply something that arises from cleverness or a sense of fun. Humorous implies a genuine sense of fun and the comic, impersonal, or gently personal: a humorous version of an incident; a humorous view of life. Witty implies quickness to perceive the amusing, striking, or unusual and to express it cleverly and entertainingly; it sometimes becomes rather sharp and unkind, particularly in quick repartee of a personal nature: a witty and interesting companion; to be witty at someone else's expense. Facetious suggests a desire or attempt to be jocular or witty but not to be taken seriously: a facetious remark. Waggish suggests the spirit of sly mischief and roguery of the constant joker, with no harm intended: a waggish good humor.
Other Word Forms
- humorously adverb
- humorousness noun
Etymology
Origin of humorous1
First recorded in 1570–80; humor + -ous
Origin of humorous1
1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin ( h ) ūmōrōsus; humor, -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We stay relevant by connecting with our consumers authentically, through things like humorous scent names.
The scene concludes on a humorous note with the chair the two of them are sitting on tipping over, but it’s clear Edward has rejected Joyce and is unclear on what has occurred.
From Salon
The short “Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom,” for instance, is a humorous tale about the discovery of music.
From Los Angeles Times
For his first song, he picked the humorous “Honey Bun” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific.”
From Los Angeles Times
But for all the calculated cruelty and blind ignorance, there is a humorous angle to the conditions on Parris Island: The intimate living conditions, the constant showering, the “blouses,” the “mounting.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
