0%

gallows humor

gal·lows hu·mor
G g

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [gal-ohz, -uh z hyoo-mer or, often, yoo-]
    • /ˈgæl oʊz, -əz ˈhyu mər or, often, ˈyu-/
    • /ˈɡæl.əʊz ˈhjuː.mər/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [gal-ohz, -uh z hyoo-mer or, often, yoo-]
    • /ˈgæl oʊz, -əz ˈhyu mər or, often, ˈyu-/

Definitions of gallows humor words

  • noun gallows humor humor that treats serious, frightening, or painful subject matter in a light or satirical way. 1
  • noun gallows humor macabre jokes 1
  • noun gallows humor amused cynicism by one facing disaster; morbid or cynical humor 0
  • noun gallows humor (Idiomatic) (US) Comedy that still manages to be funny in the face of, and in response to, a tragic or hopeless situation. 0
See all 4 definitions of gallows humor

Information block about the term

Origin of gallows humor

First appearance:

before 1900
One of the 17% newest English words
First recorded in 1900-05

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Gallows humor

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Gallows humor

gallows humor popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 32% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 59% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

gallows humor usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for gallows humor

noun gallows humor

  • black humor — a form of humor that regards human suffering as absurd rather than pitiable, or that considers human existence as ironic and pointless but somehow comic.
Just one Synonym for gallows humor

See also

Matching words

Was this page helpful?
Yes No
Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page
Tell us why?