humor

—humorful, adj. —humorless, adj. —humorlessly, adv. —humorlessness, n.

/hyooh"meuhr/ or, often, /yooh"-/, n.

1. a comic, absurd, or incongruous quality causing amusement: the humor of a situation.

2. the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical: He is completely without humor.

3. an instance of being or attempting to be comical or amusing; something humorous: The humor in his joke eluded the audience.

4. the faculty of expressing the amusing or comical: The author's humor came across better in the book than in the movie.

5. comical writing or talk in general; comical books, skits, plays, etc.

6. humors, peculiar features; oddities; quirks: humors of life.

7. mental disposition or temperament.

8. a temporary mood or frame of mind: The boss is in a bad humor today.

9. a capricious or freakish inclination; whim or caprice; odd trait.

10. (in medieval physiology) one of the four elemental fluids of the body, blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile, regarded as determining, by their relative proportions, a person's physical and mental constitution.

11. any animal or plant fluid, whether natural or morbid, as the blood or lymph.

12. out of humor, displeased; dissatisfied; cross: The chef is feeling out of humor again and will have to be treated carefully.

v.t.

13. to comply with the humor or mood of in order to soothe or make content or more agreeable: to humor a child.

14. to adapt or accommodate oneself to.

Also, esp. Brit., humour.

[1300-50; ME (h)umour < AF < L (h)umor- (s. of (h)umor) moisture, fluid (medical L: body fluid), equiv. to (h)um(ere) to be wet (see HUMID) + -or- -OR¹]

Syn. 4. HUMOR, WIT refer to an ability to perceive and express a sense of the clever or amusing. HUMOR consists principally in the recognition and expression of incongruities or peculiarities present in a situation or character. It is frequently used to illustrate some fundamental absurdity in human nature or conduct, and is generally thought of as more kindly than wit: a genial and mellow type of humor; his biting wit. WIT is a purely intellectual manifestation of cleverness and quickness of apprehension in discovering analogies between things really unlike, and expressing them in brief, diverting, and often sharp observations or remarks. 9. fancy, vagary.

13. HUMOR, GRATIFY, INDULGE imply attempting to satisfy the wishes or whims of (oneself or others). TO HUMOR is to comply with a mood, fancy, or caprice, as in order to satisfy, soothe, or manage: to humor an invalid. TO GRATIFY is to please by satisfying the likings or desires: to gratify someone by praising him. INDULGE suggests a yielding to wishes that perhaps should not be given in to: to indulge an unreasonable demand; to indulge an irresponsible son.

Ant. 13. discipline, restrain.

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