gallows humor
noun
: humor that makes fun of a life-threatening, disastrous, or terrifying situation
Examples of gallows humor in a Sentence
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His Hawkeye Pierce and Elliott Gould’s Trapper John M.D. are a great double act, choosing gallows humor, pranks and the occasional happy-hour interlude as a way of celebrating life amidst a landscape of death.
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David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2024
Whether taking in the borderline-comic killing sprees of Jason Voorhees or the proudly obscene rampages of Art the Clown, what midnight moviegoers applaud is a filmmaker’s willingness to go there — to push the limits of good taste and gallows humor, and to drag us with them over the top.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 31 May 2024
This gallows humor amounts to a national private joke — perhaps never intended to be taken seriously (not with characters named Dementus, Scrotus, and Rictus Erectus) except by comic-book fanatics emboldened by cinematic representation.
—Armond White, National Review, 24 May 2024
The gallows humor pervaded the Supercharging team, which had set up more than 6,200 stations and 57,000 connectors worldwide and was in the process of opening the network to other automakers, which should increase usage.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for gallows humor 
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2024
Whether taking in the borderline-comic killing sprees of Jason Voorhees or the proudly obscene rampages of Art the Clown, what midnight moviegoers applaud is a filmmaker’s willingness to go there — to push the limits of good taste and gallows humor, and to drag us with them over the top.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 31 May 2024
This gallows humor amounts to a national private joke — perhaps never intended to be taken seriously (not with characters named Dementus, Scrotus, and Rictus Erectus) except by comic-book fanatics emboldened by cinematic representation.
—Armond White, National Review, 24 May 2024
The gallows humor pervaded the Supercharging team, which had set up more than 6,200 stations and 57,000 connectors worldwide and was in the process of opening the network to other automakers, which should increase usage.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for gallows humor
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gallows humor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Gallows humor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gallows%20humor. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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