How to Use gallows humor in a Sentence

gallows humor

noun
Definition of gallows humornext
  • There’s a certain sense of gallows humor in the film too.
    — Vulture, 30 Nov. 2022
  • There was plenty of anger too, and a healthy dose of gallows humor.
    — Shirley Leung, BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2022
  • For us, the way through is with a sense of humor, and in this case gallows humor was in order.
    — Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Sep. 2021
  • The Memes For those taking it all in stride, the big drop was best captured by gallows humor.
    — David Z. Morris, Fortune, 23 Dec. 2017
  • As Covid-19 has raged on, the content has mostly skewed macabre, but with that came a fair amount of gallows humor.
    — Angela Watercutter, Wired, 13 Aug. 2021
  • Amid the conflict in Ukraine, here are movies about the Cold War, from espionage thrillers to gallows humor.
    — Kellie Hwang, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Mar. 2022
  • Thank you for moms in your corner and gallows humor and the sun that rises, no matter what.
    — Iris Goldsztajn, Marie Claire, 14 Sep. 2021
  • Janesville resident Hank Brill came in on cue with a dose of gallows humor.
    — Neil Johnson, Star Tribune, 5 Oct. 2020
  • The familiar tough talk and gallows humor among cops seem achingly poignant when the last days are at hand.
    — Nicole Lamy, New York Times, 26 Sep. 2017
  • Amid the pervasive sense of dread in the texts, there were also moments of gallows humor.
    — Mark Landler, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2023
  • If your teen has a healthy dose of gallows humor, this pencil holder would be right up their alley.
    — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, 17 July 2022
  • Viewing the game through a real-life lens offered a broader paint brush, gallows humor and all.
    — Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2022
  • Astronomers have even resorted to a sort of gallows humor about the coming years.
    — Rebecca Boyle, Scientific American, 7 Nov. 2022
  • Chock-full of brilliant gallows humor, the film caps with a wonderful mic-drop ending (of the sort that rarely gets made nowadays).
    — Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 29 Aug. 2023
  • Lately, some of the same supporters are griping and engaging in gallows humor about the U-turn the stock has done since then.
    — Dana Hull, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2022
  • No matter what happens Thursday, the passage of time will put an end to the deadline-day gallows humor.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 24 Mar. 2021
  • The gallows humor shows that people rarely look beyond the first few results of a search, but Lee Griffin isn’t laughing.
    — Amy Thomsonbloomberg, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2019
  • Casey's wandering around, using a little gallows humor to get through the night.
    — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2022
  • Holzhauer was joking, a little gallows humor before the end of his lucrative run.
    — Phil Rosenthal, chicagotribune.com, 4 June 2019
  • Though her skewering satire is pointed and painful, her gallows humor keeps the reader smiling.
    — Claire Messud, Harper’s Magazine , 16 Mar. 2022
  • Tyronn Lue’s comment, in a tone of gallows humor, made its way around the internet within minutes.
    — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Charlestonians have had plenty of time to hone our gallows humor as we have been swamped by four major storms in four years, and the disastrous flooding that comes with them.
    — Steve Bailey, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Sep. 2019
  • The gallows humor a year ago when the pandemic first took hold of the country was that the number of births was going to soar as Americans were stuck home with each other with nothing to do.
    — Warren Shoulberg, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2021
  • That one dry exchange captures the spirit — the fatalism, the gallows humor, the recognition that the system doesn’t work and the pride in sticking with it anyway — that drove the entire series.
    — New York Times, 2 June 2022
  • Throughout the Trump years, the show was a mix of righteous anger and gallows humor, while also becoming a powerhouse for grass roots activism and fund-raising.
    — New York Times, 21 Apr. 2021
  • Amid the biting gallows humor of the show, her execution scene is a truly touching moment.
    — Theodore P. Mahne, NOLA.com, 9 Oct. 2017
  • There is a long tradition of dark comedy, dating back centuries — a gallows humor for folks who see the entire world as a gallow.
    — Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2021
  • In 2017, a documentary about Gottfried showcased a different side of the man behind the raunchy gallows humor.
    — Christi Carrasstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2022
  • But his style, in the best stories here, is distinguished by a gallows humor featuring men who are just smart enough to work a grift but not bright enough to escape the ensuing trouble.
    — Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2021
  • Piper is, once again, astounding as Suzie, fusing heartache with gallows humor and rage with stinging resignation.
    — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 6 July 2023

Some of 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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