humorlessness

noun

as in earnestness

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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 humorlessness One of my major disappointments in a lot of the writing was its humorlessness. — Diya Chacko, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humorlessness
  1. earnestness
  2. gravitas
  3. seriousness
  4. gravity
  5. earnest
  6. soberness
  7. solemnity
Noun
  • As these events unfold, Early’s earnestness blurs comedy and drama, to surprisingly heartfelt effect.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2026
  • Western, for his part, had by this time recovered something of his usual bluster, and began again upon the subject of Blifil, commending his estate and his family with great earnestness, as though these considerations alone ought to have settled the matter long since.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 2 June 2026
Definition of earnestness
Noun
  • As Agathe comes to understand the extent of her troubles, Exarchopoulos’ performance achieves a sorrowful gravitas.
    — Jon Frosch, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2023
  • Henriksen plays his part to the hilt here, bringing a gravitas that few actors would consider bringing to the role of a shoot-'em-up movie villain.
    — Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2023
Definition of gravitas
Noun
  • Critical infrastructure must assume persistent aerial observation as a baseline condition of operations, and operators must rehearse drone incidents with the same seriousness as cyberattacks or active shooter scenarios.
    — Bill Edwards, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • Far from being disengaged from the city’s fiscal challenges, residents demonstrated a clear understanding of the seriousness of this issue to the future of Chicago.
    — Karen Freeman-Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026
Definition of seriousness
Noun
  • As soon as the bubble moves, the machine is subject to gravity and flow.
    — Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
  • When two stars align almost perfectly from Earth’s perspective, the gravity of the nearer one bends and magnifies the light from the more distant star, acting like a cosmic magnifying glass.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 6 July 2026
Definition of gravity
Noun
  • By May 2026, all 11 of xAI’s original cofounders had departed the company, a cascade that began in earnest in February when Tony Wu, described as one of the most operationally central cofounders, announced his resignation.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 June 2026
  • Modern viticulture began in earnest here in the 1970s before blossoming in the ’90s.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 22 June 2026
Definition of earnest
Noun
  • Because of the way the director works, emotions tend to be more discussed than felt, although there’s something about Carla’s desperation that pierces through all the soberness.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 17 Feb. 2026
Definition of soberness
Noun
  • Gore is best known for Make America Great Again, her 2016 naked portrait of Trump with the paunch and solemnity of the great men of art history, adding, crucially, the tiniest of compensatory micropenises.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
  • As his own self-celebration has fizzled, a void has opened between the scheduled roster of events and the true purpose and meaning of the solemnity of July 4, 2026.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
Definition of solemnity

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humorless
humorlessness
humorous
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Cite this Entry

“Humorlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humorlessness. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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