humor

To be in an irritable, grouchy, or unhappy mood; to feel unwell, displeased, or in poor spirits. Primarily heard in UK. I think something is bugging John because he's been rather out of humour lately. I think you should get to bed earlier because you're always so out of humour in the morning.

old-fashioned To be put in an irritable, grouchy, or unhappy mood; to be made to feel unwell, displeased, or in poor spirits. Primarily heard in UK. I must say, I was put quite out of humour to have been reprimanded like that in front of my colleagues. My wife is always being put out of humour by the cold weather in this part of the country.

Humor that is complemented by or contrasted with morbid, grisly, or otherwise unsettling elements. The play is full of black humor that will make you chuckle while squirming with discomfort. The director's new comedy offers a biting critique of modern capitalism with a heaping dose of his signature black humor.

To be in an irritable, grouchy, or unhappy mood; to feel unwell, displeased, or in poor spirits. Primarily heard in UK. I felt out of humour for nearly a week after my manuscript got rejected by the publisher. I think you should get to bed earlier because you always wake up feeling so out of humour in the morning.

Humor that aims to make grim subjects, like death, funny or comical. (A "gallows" is the wooden frame from which criminals were traditionally hanged.) A: "Why would he say a morbid thing like that?" B: "Oh, that's just how Uncle Ned is—he's prone to gallows humor."

cliché Anything tragic, difficult, or uncomfortable can be made the subject of humor if enough time has passed. My marriage was an absolute nightmare for five years of my life. Thankfully, I'm at a point now where I can well and truly laugh about it. I guess it's true that humor equals tragedy plus time. They say that humor equals tragedy plus time, but I just can't laugh at jokes about such a horrible incident in human history.

Especially crude, vulgar, or bawdy humor. I'm no prude by any means, but I hate the locker-room humor my boyfriend partakes in when his buddies are around.

In an irritable, grouchy, or unhappy mood; not feeling well or in good spirits. Primarily heard in UK. I think something is bugging John because he's been rather out of humour lately. After living in Gibraltar for so long, these awful London winters leave me feeling rather out of humour.

In an irritable, grouchy, or unhappy mood; not feeling well or in good spirits. I think something is bugging John, because he's been rather out of sorts lately. After living in Florida for so long, these awful Minnesota winters leave me feeling out of sorts.

old-fashioned To put one in an irritable, grouchy, or unhappy mood; to make one feel unwell, displeased, or in poor spirits. Primarily heard in UK. Having lived in Gibraltar for most of my life, where the weather remains temperate throughout the year, I must say that these awful London winters put me quite out of humour. It always puts me out of humour to think about the state of our country's political system for too long.

Immature humor. Guys, enough with the schoolboy humor. Let's try to act like adults, please.

A type of humor focused on bodily functions, such as urination and defecation. Grandma hates that toilet humor, guys, so please lay off it while she's here.

not feeling well; grumpy and irritable. (*Typically: be ~; feel ~; get ~.) I've been out of sorts for a day or two. I think I'm coming down with something. The baby is out of sorts. Maybe she's getting a new tooth.

the ability to appreciate good humor and jokes; the ability to create jokes and say funny things. Does he have a sense of humor? He looks like he has never laughed in his life.

Irritable, grouchy, as in Don't ask him today-he's out of sorts. This expression also implies that one's poor spirits result from feeling slightly ill. [Early 1600s] The synonym out of humor, on the other hand, used more in Britain than America, simply means "ill-tempered" or "irritable." [Mid-1600s]

If you are out of sorts, you feel slightly unwell, upset, or annoyed. He returned to his motel room feeling ill-tempered and out of sorts.

In a bad mood; irritable.

Grim ironical humor about a serious subject. The term dates from the late 1800s and alludes to joking about being taken to the gallows and hanged. When President Barack Obama was asked why he laughed when talking about the bad state of the world economy, he replied, with a laugh, “There’s gotta be a little gallows humor to get you through the day” (Sixty Minutes, March 22, 2009).