noun · verb · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈhjuː.mə(ɹ)/
General-American:/ˈhjuːmɚ/
General-American:/ˈjuːmɚ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -uːmə(ɹ)
CMU ARPABET:HH Y UW1 M ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, uncountable, usually
Examples
She has a great sense of humour, and I always laugh a lot whenever we get together.
The sensitive subject was treated with humour, but in such way that no one was offended.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: amusingness, comedy, comicality, wit
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A mood, especially a bad mood; a temporary state of mind or disposition brought upon by an event; an abrupt illogical inclination or whim.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, uncountable, usually
Examples
He was in a particularly vile humour that afternoon.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: mood
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Any of the fluids in an animal body, especially the four "cardinal humours" of blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm that were believed to control the health and mood of the human body.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, archaic, historical, uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bodily fluid
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Either of the two regions of liquid within the eyeball, the aqueous humour and vitreous humour.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, uncountable, usually
Topics: medicine, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
Moist vapour, moisture.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, obsolete, uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
To pacify by indulging.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, transitive
Examples
I know you don't believe my story, but humour me for a minute and imagine it to be true.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
she didn't appreciate my humor
you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: humor, sense of humor, sense of humour
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: playfulness, fun
8
noun
Meaning 8
the quality of being funny
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
I fail to see the humor in it
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: humor
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: quality
Narrower terms: comicality
9
noun
Meaning 9
the liquid parts of the body
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: liquid body substance, bodily fluid, body fluid, humor
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the time
he was in a bad humor
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: temper, mood, humor
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: feeling
Narrower terms: peeve, sulk, sulkiness, good humor, good humour, good temper, amiability, ill humor, ill humour, distemper
13
verb
Meaning 13
put into a good mood
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: humor
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: gratify, pander, indulge
History
Etymology
From Middle English humour, from Old French humor, humour, from Latin hūmor, correctly ūmor (“liquid”), from hūmeō, correctly ūmeō (“to be moist”). The h in these words, which was silent in late Classical Latin, is folk etymological, due to the erroneous association with the word humus (“soil”). The shift in meaning "liquid" > "mood" is attributed to the classical system of physiology, where human behaviour is regulated by four bodily humours (fluids). The sense "mood" gave rise to the verb sense "to give in to someone's mood or whim" and, by narrowing of meaning, the sense "wit".
Across languages
Translations
163 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
humor
— wit
Arabic:
فُكَاهَة
(fukāha)
— wit
Arabic:
دُعَابَة
(duʕāba)
— wit
Armenian:
հումար
(humar)
— wit
Azerbaijani:
yumor
— wit
Azerbaijani:
zarafat
— wit
Belarusian:
гу́мар
(húmar)
— wit
Bulgarian:
ху́мор
(húmor)
— wit
Burmese:
ဟာသ
(hasa.)
— wit
Catalan:
humor
— wit
Cebuano:
kataw'anan
— wit
Chinese Mandarin:
幽默
(yōumò)
— wit
Chinese Mandarin:
諧謔 /谐谑
(xiéxuè, xiénüè)
— wit
Czech:
humor
— wit
Danish:
humor
— wit
Dutch:
humor
— wit
Esperanto:
humuro
— wit
Estonian:
huumor
— wit
Finnish:
huumori
— wit
French:
humour
— wit
Georgian:
იუმორი
(iumori)
— wit
German:
Humor
— wit
Greek:
χιούμορ
(chioúmor)
— wit
Hebrew:
הוּמוֹר
(humór)
— wit
Hungarian:
humor
— wit
Hungarian:
komikum
— wit
Icelandic:
húmor
— wit
Indonesian:
humor
— wit
Indonesian:
kelakar
— wit
Interlingua:
humor
— wit
Irish:
greann
— wit
Italian:
humour
— wit
Italian:
umorismo
— wit
Japanese:
ユーモア
(yūmoa)
— wit
Japanese:
諧謔
(kaigyaku)
— wit
Japanese:
滑稽さ
— wit
Kazakh:
әзіл-оспақ
(äzıl-ospaq)
— wit
Khmer:
ការកំប្លែង
(kaa kɑmplɛɛng)
— wit
Korean:
유머
(yumeo)
— wit
Korean:
해학
(haehak)
— wit
Kyrgyz:
юмор
(yumor)
— wit
Kyrgyz:
азил
(azil)
— wit
Latvian:
humors
— wit
Lithuanian:
humoras
— wit
Macedonian:
хумор
(humor)
— wit
Malayalam:
നർമ്മം
(naṟmmaṁ)
— wit
Malayalam:
ഹാസ്യം
(hāsyaṁ)
— wit
Malayalam:
തമാശ
(tamāśa)
— wit
Māori:
manawareka
— wit
Norwegian Bokmål:
humor
— wit
Norwegian Nynorsk:
humor
— wit
Persian:
شوخی
(šuxi)
— wit
Plautdietsch:
Spos
— wit
Polish:
humor
— wit
Portuguese:
humor
— wit
Romanian:
umor
— wit
Russian:
ю́мор
(júmor)
— wit
Scottish Gaelic:
àbhachd
— wit
Serbo-Croatian:
ху̀мор
— wit
Serbo-Croatian:
hùmor
— wit
Slovak:
humor
— wit
Slovene:
humor
— wit
Spanish:
humor
— wit
Spanish:
gracia
— wit
Swedish:
humor
— wit
Tagalog:
balantong
— wit
Tajik:
зарофат
(zarofat)
— wit
Tatar:
юмор
(yumor)
— wit
Telugu:
హాస్యం
(hāsyaṁ)
— wit
Turkish:
mizah
— wit
Turkish:
şaka
— wit
Udmurt:
серембур
(śerembur)
— wit
Ukrainian:
гу́мор
(húmor)
— wit
Uzbek:
yumor
— wit
Uzbek:
hazil
— wit
Uzbek:
mutoyiba
— wit
Vietnamese:
sự hài hước
— wit
Arabic:
مِزَاج
(mizāj)
— mood
Belarusian:
настро́й
(nastrój)
— mood
Bulgarian:
настрое́ние
(nastroénie)
— mood
Catalan:
humor
— mood
Chinese Mandarin:
心情
(xīnqíng)
— mood
Czech:
nálada
— mood
Danish:
humør
— mood
Dutch:
stemming
— mood
Dutch:
humeur
— mood
Esperanto:
humoro
— mood
Finnish:
tuuli
— mood
French:
humeur
— mood
French:
disposition
— mood
German:
Laune
— mood
German:
Humor
— mood
German:
Stimmung
— mood
Hungarian:
kedv
— mood
Hungarian:
hangulat
— mood
Hungarian:
humor
— mood
Hungarian:
kedély
— mood
Hungarian:
kedélyállapot
— mood
Icelandic:
skap
— mood
Interlingua:
humor
— mood
Irish:
giúmar
— mood
Italian:
umore
— mood
Japanese:
気分
(kibun)
— mood
Japanese:
気持ち
(kimochi)
— mood
Korean:
기분
(gibun)
— mood
Latvian:
garastāvoklis
— mood
Lithuanian:
nuotaika
— mood
Lithuanian:
nusiteikimas
— mood
Norwegian Bokmål:
humør
— mood
Persian:
گش
(gaš)
— mood
Piedmontese:
umor
— mood
Polish:
humor
— mood
Polish:
nastrój
— mood
Portuguese:
humor
— mood
Russian:
настрое́ние
(nastrojénije)
— mood
Serbo-Croatian:
расположење
— mood
Serbo-Croatian:
raspoloženje
— mood
Slovak:
nálada
— mood
Slovene:
razpoloženje
— mood
Spanish:
humor
— mood
Swedish:
humör
— mood
Ukrainian:
на́стрій
(nástrij)
— mood
Arabic:
خِلْط
(ḵilṭ)
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Arabic:
أَخْلَاط
(ʔaḵlāṭ)
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Chinese Mandarin:
體液 /体液
(tǐyè)
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Esperanto:
humoro
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Finnish:
perusneste
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
French:
humeur
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
German:
Körpersaft
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
German:
Saft
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Ancient Greek:
ῥεῦμα
(rheûma)
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Ancient Greek:
χυμός
(khumós)
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Hungarian:
testnedv
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Latin:
hūmor
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Russian:
гумор
(gumor)
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Spanish:
humor
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Spanish:
aguadija
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Swedish:
kroppsvätska
— historical: any of the four cardinal humors
Bulgarian:
угаждам
(ugaždam)
— to pacify by indulging
Dutch:
tegemoet komen
— to pacify by indulging
Dutch:
paaien
— to pacify by indulging
Dutch:
toegeven
— to pacify by indulging
Finnish:
olla mieliksi
— to pacify by indulging
French:
amadouer
— to pacify by indulging
German:
jemandem seinen Willen lassen
— to pacify by indulging
German:
besänftigen
— to pacify by indulging
Hungarian:
kedvében jár
— to pacify by indulging
Hungarian:
kedvére tesz
— to pacify by indulging
Hungarian:
alkalmazkodik
— to pacify by indulging
Irish:
mol le
— to pacify by indulging
Irish:
ionramhái
— to pacify by indulging
Italian:
accontentare
— to pacify by indulging
Italian:
assecondare
— to pacify by indulging
Latin:
mōrigerō
— to pacify by indulging
Russian:
угожда́ть
(ugoždátʹ)
— to pacify by indulging
Russian:
ублажа́ть
(ublažátʹ)
— to pacify by indulging
Spanish:
seguir la corriente
— to pacify by indulging
Spanish:
hacer el favor
— to pacify by indulging
Swedish:
gå till mötes
— to pacify by indulging
Swedish:
foga sig
— to pacify by indulging
Ukrainian:
годи́ти
(hodýty)
— to pacify by indulging
Ukrainian:
догоджа́ти
(dohodžáty)
— to pacify by indulging
Ukrainian:
догоди́ти
(dohodýty)
— to pacify by indulging