unhumorous

adjective

Definition of unhumorousnext
as in uncomic

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unhumorous Unlike Dickens, to whom he was sometimes compared, Balzac didn’t care for or about children, and was essentially unhumorous. — Elif Batuman, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhumorous
  1. humorless
  2. lame
  3. earnest
  4. serious
  5. unfunny
  6. unamusing
  7. somber
  8. tragic
Adjective
  • Walker joins as the imposing, entitled and humorless Peter Van Laar III, the wealthy heir to the Van Laar estate, whose behavior is a struggle for both his wife, Alice, and 13-year-old daughter.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 May 2026
  • Patton, a notoriously tough and humorless commander, considered Willy and Joe to be a threat to discipline and morale — quite the opposite of the way many fans saw them.
    — Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Definition of humorless
Adjective
  • Blumenthal hopes to see action on KOSA in the lame-duck session.
    — Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Only to see them, after winning elections, get strong-armed by the party, then offer lame excuses as to why.
    — Colleen Kujawa, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of lame
Adjective
  • Contemplation of this tax — which produced $384 million in the last fiscal year — has consumed endless hours of work from some of the county’s most respected leaders, and drawn earnest public testimony from dozens of people.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The video plays hopscotch with tone—at once horrific, ridiculous, and bathetically earnest.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of earnest
Adjective
  • The subject is of particular interest at CBS News, where Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss has repeatedly encouraged the network’s journalists to dedicate serious resources to finding a potential link.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Illinois Republicans are angry that the congressional map is deliberately drawn to their serious disadvantage, with some districts almost comically gerrymandered.
    — John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of serious
Adjective
  • So maybe a gratuitous and unfunny line about anyone taking out American cities is better left unsaid.
    — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
  • But being unfunny is less Digger’s problem than a story that ties itself in knots trying to be clever, as a completely unconvincing big twist alters the picture and opens a window to a grim future.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of unfunny
Adjective
  • For some, the fundamental flaw will be that, despite the title, the comic material (mostly culled from vintage gags of the period) the characters perform onstage sounds painfully unamusing to contemporary ears.
    — Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2017
Definition of unamusing
Adjective
  • Some are somber, like the single mom Mekko’s left in the lurch or a fellow journalist who prefers feel-good fluff pieces to muckraking.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The trailer opens on the somber, grayscale world of London before entering the wild, psychedelic, and magical world of Narnia.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of somber
Adjective
  • Encouragement from his longtime confidante and collaborator helped the comedian write about the loss of his beloved home before Reiner’s tragic killing in December 2025 alongside his wife, Michele, in Brentwood.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Reynolds, a Black disabled man with a limb difference, is given a character of substance that isn’t tragic or inspirational.
    — Kristen Lopez, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of tragic

Browse Nearby Words

unhooks
unhumorous
unhurried
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Cite this Entry

“Unhumorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhumorous. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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