black humor
Americannoun
Usage
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.
Etymology
Origin of black humor
First recorded in 1965–70
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.
Mr. Lanchester is a magnetic writer who combines the skills of a social realist with this penchant for Nabokovian black humor and narrative trickery.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
The film is chock full of black humor set against steampunk visual design.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 10, 2024
The movie is admiring, but not fawning, and makes a fetish neither of Fox’s suffering nor his equanimity — sometimes amounting to black humor — in dealing with it.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2023
“Without black humor, we can’t live in the war,” he said.
From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2022
He reminded Tyrion of Bronn, though Bronn had a sellsword’s black humor and Griff had no humor at all.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
