humorous

¹

[ hyoo-mer-uhsor, often, yoo- ]

adjective

1. characterized by humor; funny; comical:

   a humorous anecdote.

   Synonyms: laughable, ludicrous

   Antonyms: serious, sober, solemn

2. having or showing the faculty of humor; droll; facetious:

   a humorous person.

   Synonyms: comical, comic, jocular, jocose

   Antonyms: serious, sober, solemn

humorous

²

[ hyoo-mer-uhsor, often, yoo- ]

adjective

1. Archaic. moist; wet.
2. pertaining or due to the bodily humors.

humorous

/ ˈhjuːmərəs /

adjective

1. funny; comical; amusing
2. displaying or creating humour
3. archaic.
   another word for capricious

Derived Forms

• ˈhumorously, adverb
• ˈhumorousness, noun

Other Words From

• humor·ous·ly adverb
• humor·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of humorous¹

First recorded in 1570–80; humor + -ous

Origin of humorous²

1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin ( h ) ūmōrōsus; humor, -ous

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

He was almost gleeful or somehow found the situation humorous.

From Salon

Similar roles have followed on Match of the Day and for CBS' Champions League coverage - where humorous off-script moments between presenter Abdo, Richards himself and Premier League legends Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry regularly trend on social media.

From BBC

“They don’t have powers, they make all their own costumes, and it’s fabulous and can be campy and can be humorous but then is also gut-wrenching.”

From Los Angeles Times

In a humorous video, Manning congratulated Stafford on that achievement.

From Los Angeles Times

Some 69% of poll respondents considered the comments to be "more racist than humorous," while 71% of of Puerto Ricans felt the comments pointed to racism within Trump's campaign.

From Salon

Related Words

• amusing
• comic
• droll
• entertaining
• hilarious
• playful
• pleasant
• whimsical