Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

humorous

/ˈhjuːməɹəs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.60 in modern English

Syllables: hu-mor-ous
IPA: /ˈhjuːməɹəs/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Full of humor or arousing laughter; funny.

adj

Showing humor; witty, jocular.

adj

Damp or watery.

Obsolete

adj

Dependent on or caused by one's humour or mood; capricious, whimsical.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"The waiters were so humorous - one even did a backflip for us, when we asked him."
"[S]uch is now the Duke's condition That he misconstrues all that you have done. The Duke is humorous; what he is, indeed, More suits you to conceive than I to speak of."
"It is a melancholy humor[…]that firſt put this humorous conceipt [translating resverie] of writing into my head."
"I felt at this time as if I could have been fond of him too, if he would have let me; but I was timid from my childhood, and before long my dread of his displeasure […] conquered my humorous inclination to love one who was so handsome, so accomplished, so indulgent and devoted."

Etymology

From Middle English humorous (compare Medieval Latin hūmorōsus), equivalent to humor + -ous.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: humorous

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈhjuːməɹəs/
British English: /ˈhjuːməɹəs/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

more humorous (comparative) most humorous (superlative)

Derived Forms

humorously humorousness nonhumorous semihumorous unhumorous

Frequently Paired Words

humor humour

Synonyms

amusing funny jocose jocular witty humourous

Homonyms

humerus

Rhymes With

numerous humerus humerous

Questions

How do you pronounce humorous?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhjuːməɹəs/.
What does humorous mean?: Full of humor or arousing laughter; funny.
Where does humorous come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce humorous

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “humorous”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhjuːməɹəs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “humorous”.
Repeat and practice — Say “humorous” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.