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humour

[hyoo-mer]

noun

Chiefly British.
  1. humor.



humour

/ ˈhjuːmə /

noun

  1. the quality of being funny

  2. Also called: sense of humourthe ability to appreciate or express that which is humorous

  3. situations, speech, or writings that are thought to be humorous

    1. a state of mind; temper; mood

    2. ( in combination )

      ill humour

      good humour

  4. temperament or disposition

  5. a caprice or whim

  6. any of various fluids in the body, esp the aqueous humour and vitreous humour

  7. Also called: cardinal humourarchaic,  any of the four bodily fluids (blood, phlegm, choler or yellow bile, melancholy or black bile) formerly thought to determine emotional and physical disposition

  8. in a bad mood

“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

verb

  1. to attempt to gratify; indulge

    he humoured the boy's whims

  2. to adapt oneself to

    to humour someone's fantasies

“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
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Spelling Note

See -or 1.
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Other Word Forms

  • humourless adjective
  • humourful adjective
  • humourlessness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of humour1

C14: from Latin humor liquid; related to Latin ūmēre to be wet, Old Norse vökr moist, Greek hugros wet
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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.

He said "everyone was calm and dignified" and people "used an element of humour" to keep going.

From BBC

He might even develop a sense of humour!

"It's all about sense of humour," she says.

From BBC

"Ireland and the UK are so vastly different in their sense of humour and their references."

From BBC

"But there are a lot of similarities - the family, it has the same energy, humour and swagger."

From BBC

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