humorist

[hyoo-mer-ist or, often, yoo-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR humorist ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who is skillful in the use of humor, as in writing, talking, or acting.

a person with an active sense of humor.

Origin of humorist

1590–1600; < French humoriste, equivalent to humour (< E) + -iste -ist. Compare Italian (h)umorista capricious, subject to humors

Related formshu·mor·is·tic, hu·mor·is·ti·cal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for humorist

entertainer, satirist, clown, jester, joker, wit, comic, jokester, card, comedienne, cutup, wisecracker

Examples from the Web for humorist

Contemporary Examples of humorist

David Rakoff, 47 (Nov. 27, 1964, to Aug. 9, 2012) The humorist and journalist died in New York after a long battle with cancer.
Remembering Writers Who Left Us in 2012
The Daily Beast
December 27, 2012
Just as a humorist in general, as an author, I was a huge fan.
Diablo Cody on How Nora Ephron Blazed a Trail for Female Filmmakers
Marlow Stern
June 28, 2012
The famed writer, filmmaker, and humorist Nora Ephron died on June 26 at the age of 71 from leukemia.
Nora Ephron, Dead at 71, Remembered for Wit and Wisdom
Nancy Hass
June 27, 2012
It was an affliction that he shared with two close friends, humorist Art Buchwald and writer William Styron.
Mike Wallace Dead at 93: His Enduring TV Legacy
Eleanor Clift
April 8, 2012
Martin Lewis is a British-born, U.S.-based, humorist and producer.
Why We Heart John Lennon
Martin Lewis, Harvey Weinstein
October 8, 2010

Historical Examples of humorist

In the zany we see an example of creation; in the humorist, of transmission.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
The crowd shrieked with laughter at Bursley's only humorist.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, December 9, 1914
Various
I had heard him as the humorist on some trivial occasions of debate.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine -- Volume 57, No. 351, January 1845
Various
The humorist accepted the substitution as an additional absurdity.
The Booklover and His Books
Harry Lyman Koopman
Franklin must also be classed as the first American humorist.
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin

British Dictionary definitions for humorist

humorist

noun

a person who acts, speaks, or writes in a humorous way

Derived Formshumoristic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for humorist

1590s, from humor (n.) + -ist. Perhaps on model of Middle French humoriste.