black humor

noun

1. a form of humor that regards human suffering as absurd rather than pitiable, or that considers human existence as ironic and pointless but somehow comic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of black humor¹

First recorded in 1965–70

When To Use

What does black humor mean?

Black humor is a kind of comedy that jokes about serious or depressing topics, such as hopelessness, suffering, or death.The black in black humor refers to the dark or depressing subject matter that is central to such comedy. Similar terms are black comedy, dark humor, and gallows humor.Sometimes black comedy is used as a way to point out or reflect on the absurdity of life—or, more specifically, of the dark aspects of life, like death and war. But like other comedy, sometimes it’s just used to get a laugh. Either way, it’s very popular in modern media.