Basic Details
Word: Humour
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The quality of being funny, or the ability to see what is funny; also a person's mood, as in good humour.
Synonyms: wit, comedy, fun
Antonyms: seriousness, gloom
How to Spell Humour
Syllables: hu - mour
Tricky part: British spelling ends in our. The u drops in the adjective humorous, which catches many students out.
Watch out for: humer, hummour, humoure
Memory tip: Humour ends in our like colour and honour. When it becomes humorous, the u of our disappears.
Idioms and Phrases
- in good humour: in a cheerful mood Example: "Grandpa was in good humour after his morning walk."
Usage Examples
Example 1: Mr Iyer's humour made even the long train ride fun.
Example 2: She has a great sense of humour and laughs at her own mistakes.
Example 3: The cartoon mixes humour with a serious message about saving water.
Fun Fact
Doctors in the Middle Ages believed that the body held four fluids called humours, and that a person's mood depended on how they were balanced.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word humour as used in the sentence:
The principal's speech was full of gentle humour, and even the parents laughed.
a) gloom
b) wit
c) anger
d) pride
Show answer
b) wit. Wit is clever, amusing talk, which is what made the parents laugh.
Word Makeup
Only one of these words can take the suffix ous to make an adjective. Choose it:
ous
a) smile
b) laughter
c) humour
d) joke
Show answer
c) humour. Humour becomes humorous, losing the u of our before ous; laughter, joke and smile have no ous form.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our English teacher has a wonderful sense of humer, and even on the hottest afternoons she keeps the whole class laughing while we read the long chapters of the novel.
a) wonderful
b) humer
c) afternoons
d) chapters
Show answer
b) humer. In British English the word ends in our, like colour.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A person with a dry sense of humour ____.
a) says funny things with a straight face
b) never laughs at any joke
c) only laughs at loud comedy
d) tells jokes about the weather
Show answer
a) says funny things with a straight face
2. If someone is in a bad humour, they are ____.
a) in a bad mood
b) feeling unwell
c) telling bad jokes
d) losing a game
Show answer
a) in a bad mood
