Skip to main content
unfunny

unfunny

9 4.2
Does not make people laugh when meant as a joke
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈfʌni/
: sin gracia
  • The comedian's latest act was surprisingly unfunny despite high expectations.
  • unfunny joke
  • unfunny comedy
  • very unfunny

Funny and some unfunny things, but it's great.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Well, if I'm so unfunny, how come you're still my manager ?

  • It's incredible how unfunny it is.

  • Girls, this is totally unfunny.

  • Guys with Kids continued to be incredibly unfunny each week.

    Blog text (27)
  • That's a very unfunny way to say it.

  • All in all, though, this is a really unfunny sitcom.

    Blog text (29)
  • There are a ton of unfunny people doing comedy, and no one thinks they're in that group.

    Blog text (12)
  • The study suggests that when fathers embarrass their children with unfunny jokes, it teaches kids how to overcome awkwardness.

  • Everyone fell silent when he made an unfunny comment that killed the mood.

  • Her attempt at humor was just unfunny, leaving the audience confused rather than amused.

Synonyms

humorless
vsunfunny
  • US
11 4.9

Not able to see or show what is funny

describes failure to make others laugh rather than a personal refusal or inability
unamusing
vsunfunny
1 4.5

Does not make people laugh

is used when the speaker meant to cause laughter but did not
unhumorous
vsunfunny
1 7.5

Not liking jokes or laughing at them

applies to attempts that do not make people laugh rather than a personal trait
unentertaining
vsunfunny
1 4.5

Not interesting to watch, read or listen to

focuses on failing to cause laughter rather than overall entertainment value
unmirthful
vsunfunny
1 8.2

Not amused or cheerful

focuses on failing to cause laughter not on low mood or joylessness

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Causing people to laugh or smile

hilarious
  • Informal
256 1.5

Causing people to laugh loudly

174 1.0

Causes people to laugh and feel happy

How Funny

hilarious
  • Informal
256 1.5
funny
∞ 1.0
unfunny
9 4.2

Surface Forms

unfunny positive

Morphology

unfunny = funny (transparent) = un + funny

Standard negation prefix 'un-' applied to the adjective 'funny', yielding the straightforward meaning 'not amusing'.

Etymology

The word unfunny is made of the part un- meaning 'not' and funny, so it simply means 'not amusing'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of a joke that makes you groan instead of laugh — that's unfunny.