Library / English Dictionary

HUMOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous

Example:

you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor

Synonyms:

humor; humour; sense of humor; sense of humour

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("humor" is a kind of...):

fun; playfulness (a disposition to find (or make) causes for amusement)

Derivation:

humorist (someone who acts speaks or writes in an amusing way)

humorous (full of or characterized by humor)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The quality of being funny

Example:

I fail to see the humor in it

Synonyms:

humor; humour

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("humor" is a kind of...):

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "humor"):

comicality (the quality of being comical)

Derivation:

humorist (someone who acts speaks or writes in an amusing way)

humorous (full of or characterized by humor)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The liquid parts of the body

Synonyms:

bodily fluid; body fluid; humor; humour; liquid body substance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("humor" is a kind of...):

body substance (the substance of the body)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "humor"):

cerebrospinal fluid; spinal fluid (clear liquid produced in the ventricles of the brain; fills and protects cavities in the brain and spinal cord)

festering; ichor; purulence; pus; sanies; suppuration (a fluid product of inflammation)

lochia (substance discharged from the vagina (cellular debris and mucus and blood) that gradually decreases in amount during the weeks following childbirth)

choler; yellow bile (a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the liver and to cause irritability and anger)

black bile; melancholy (a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy)

secretion (a functionally specialized substance (especially one that is not a waste) released from a gland or cell)

ink (dark protective fluid ejected into the water by cuttlefish and other cephalopods)

come; cum; ejaculate; seed; semen; seminal fluid (the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract)

lymph (a thin coagulable fluid (similar to plasma but) containing white blood cells (lymphocytes) and chyle; is conveyed to the blood stream by lymphatic vessels)

chyle (a milky fluid consisting of lymph and emulsified fats; formed in the small intestine during digestion of ingested fats)

blood serum; serum (an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins, that separates out when blood coagulates)

aqueous humor; aqueous humour (the limpid fluid within the eyeball between the cornea and the lens)

vitreous body; vitreous humor; vitreous humour (the clear colorless transparent jelly that fills the posterior chamber of the eyeball)

endolymph (the bodily fluid that fills the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear)

perilymph (the bodily fluid that fills the space between the bony labyrinth and the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear)

ECF; extracellular fluid (liquid containing proteins and electrolytes including the liquid in blood plasma and interstitial fluid)

intracellular fluid (liquid contained inside the cell membranes (usually containing dissolved solutes))

juice; succus (any of several liquids of the body)

karyolymph (a clear liquid in the cell nucleus in which the nucleolus and chromatin and other structures are dispersed)

milk (produced by mammary glands of female mammals for feeding their young)

amnionic fluid; amniotic fluid; waters (the serous fluid in which the embryo is suspended inside the amnion)

blood (the fluid (red in vertebrates) that is pumped through the body by the heart and contains plasma, blood cells, and platelets)

Derivation:

humoral (of or relating to bodily fluids)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(Middle Ages) one of the four fluids in the body whose balance was believed to determine your emotional and physical state

Example:

the humors are blood and phlegm and yellow and black bile

Synonyms:

humor; humour

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("humor" is a kind of...):

body substance (the substance of the body)

Domain category:

physiology (the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms)

antiquity (the historic period preceding the Middle Ages in Europe)

Dark Ages; Middle Ages (the period of history between classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance)

Derivation:

humoral (of or relating to bodily fluids)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter

Synonyms:

humor; humour; wit; witticism; wittiness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("humor" is a kind of...):

content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)

Domain member category:

couth ((used facetiously) refinement)

couth ((used facetiously) refined and well-mannered)

Domain member usage:

libation ((facetious) a serving of an alcoholic beverage)

roaster (a harsh or humorous critic (sometimes intended as a facetious compliment))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "humor"):

topper (an exceedingly good witticism that surpasses all that have gone before)

ribaldry (ribald humor)

fun; play; sport (verbal wit or mockery (often at another's expense but not to be taken seriously))

cartoon; sketch (a humorous or satirical drawing published in a newspaper or magazine)

caricature; imitation; impersonation (a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect)

gag; jape; jest; joke; laugh (a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter)

repartee (adroitness and cleverness in reply)

caustic remark; irony; sarcasm; satire (witty language used to convey insults or scorn)

bite; pungency (wit having a sharp and caustic quality)

esprit de l'escalier (a witty remark that occurs to you too late)

bon mot; mot (a clever remark)

jeu d'esprit (a witty comment or writing)

Derivation:

humorist (someone who acts speaks or writes in an amusing way)

humorous (full of or characterized by humor)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling

Example:

he was in a bad humor

Synonyms:

humor; humour; mood; temper

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("humor" is a kind of...):

feeling (the experiencing of affective and emotional states)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "humor"):

peeve (an annoyed or irritated mood)

sulk; sulkiness (a mood or display of sullen aloofness or withdrawal)

amiability; good humor; good humour; good temper (a cheerful and agreeable mood)

distemper; ill humor; ill humour (an angry and disagreeable mood)

Derivation:

humor (put into a good mood)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put into a good mood

Synonyms:

humor; humour

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "humor" is one way to...):

gratify; indulge; pander (yield (to); give satisfaction to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

humor (a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling)

humoring (the act of indulging or gratifying a desire)

Credits

 Context examples: 

When administered directly to eyes, apraclonidine hydrochloride enhances aqueous humor outflow and decreases aqueous production by vasoconstriction.

(Apraclonidine Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

Where were all my nightly dreams of the open arms, the smiling face, the words of praise for her man who had risked his life to humor her whim?

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Humor and pathos make it alive, and you have found your style at last.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

By my faith! said Sir Nigel, smiling, if they are in a humor for venerie we may promise them some sport ere they sound the mort over us.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Brimonidine tartrate also enhances the outflow of aqueous humor.

(Brimonidine Tartrate, NCI Thesaurus)

Upon topical administration to the eye, carteolol decreases aqueous humor production, thereby reducing intraocular pressure (IOP).

(Carteolol, NCI Thesaurus)

By inhibiting PG formation, bromfenac is able to inhibit PG-induced inflammation, thereby preventing vasodilation, leukocytosis, disruption of the blood-aqueous humor barrier, an increase in vascular permeability and an increase in intraocular pressure (IOP).

(Bromfenac, NCI Thesaurus)

A circular vascular-like structure in the anterior chamber of the eye through which aqueous humor passes when returning to the blood.

(Canal of Schlemm, NCI Thesaurus)

In so doing, this agent increases the outflow of the aqueous humor, thereby reducing intraocular pressure.

(Demecarium, NCI Thesaurus)

This inhibition leads to a decrease in aqueous humor secretion, probably by slowing the formation of bicarbonate ions, and results in a reduction in intraocular pressure.

(Brinzolamide, NCI Thesaurus)