humorous adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of humorous adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

humorous

adjective
 
/ˈhjuːmərəs/
 
/ˈhjuːmərəs/
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  1. funny; showing a sense of humour
    • He gave a humorous account of their trip to Spain.
    • It's a humorous look at the world of fashion.
    • The show offers a humorous take on family life.
    • He had a wide mouth and humorous grey eyes.
    Synonyms funnyfunnyamusing entertaining witty humorous comic hilariousThese words all describe somebody/​something that makes you laugh or smile.funny that makes you laugh:
    • a funny story
    • He was a very funny guy.
    amusing funny and giving pleasure:
    • It’s a very amusing game to play.
    entertaining that you enjoy watching, listening to, doing or experiencing:
    • It was a very entertaining evening.
    witty clever and amusing; able to say or write clever and amusing things:
    • a witty remark
    • a witty public speaker
    humorous funny and entertaining; showing a sense of humour:
    • a humorous look at the world of fashion
    comic that makes you laugh:
    • Many of the scenes in the book are richly comic.
    hilarious extremely funny
    funny, amusing, humorous or comic?Amusing is the most general of these words because it includes the idea of being fun as well as making people laugh and can be used to describe events, activities and occasions: an amusing party/​game/​eveninga funny/​humorous/​comic party/​game/​evening. Humorous is more about showing that you see the humour in a situation, than actually making people laugh out loud. Comic is used especially to talk about writing and drama or things that are funny in a deliberate and theatrical way. It is not used to describe people (except for comic writers/​actors). Funny can describe people, jokes and stories, things that happen, or anything that makes people laugh.Patterns
    • a(n) funny/​amusing/​entertaining/​witty/​humorous/​comic story
    • a(n) funny/​amusing/​entertaining/​witty/​humorous speech
    • a(n) funny/​entertaining/​witty/​humorous/​comic writer
    • a(n) funny/​amusing/​hilarious joke
    • to find something funny/​amusing/​entertaining/​witty/​humorous/​hilarious
    Extra Examples
    • The film is delightfully humorous in the best traditions of romantic comedy.
    • The stories range from the darkly humorous to the despairing.
    • She had not intended to be humorous.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • become
    • find something
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    See full entry
See humorous in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee humorous in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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adjective
 
 
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