How to Use gallows humor in a Sentence

gallows humor

noun
  • 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
  • Others have turned to gallows humor.
    — Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 20 May 2026
  • 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
  • This is the kind of wry, unexpected gallows humor that this show does so well.
    — Jen Chaney, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2026
  • 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
  • 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
  • There is often a kind of gallows humor to absurdism.
    — Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Amid the pervasive sense of dread in the texts, there were also moments of gallows humor.
    — Mark Landler, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Astronomers have even resorted to a sort of gallows humor about the coming years.
    — Rebecca Boyle, Scientific American, 7 Nov. 2022
  • Janesville resident Hank Brill came in on cue with a dose of gallows humor.
    — Neil Johnson, Star Tribune, 5 Oct. 2020
  • 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
  • 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
  • Casey's wandering around, using a little gallows humor to get through the night.
    — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2022
  • Drake raps about guns with the glee of getting away with gunplay while his rhyme partner veers on a dime from trauma to gallows humor.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
  • The way that the two of us coped with those hospital stays was often making each other laugh and gallows humor.
    — Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 18 Dec. 2024
  • What recourse is there for those who do care, other than resigned acceptance and a bit of gallows humor?
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 26 Apr. 2026
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Amid the biting gallows humor of the show, her execution scene is a truly touching moment.
    — Theodore P. Mahne, NOLA.com, 9 Oct. 2017
  • Notopoulos also saw the gallows humor in the absurd feature.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 30 Apr. 2026
  • But this modest, resourceful exercise in gallows humor can’t be faulted for not sticking to its guns.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Jokes about the rising cost of living and the state of the economy are rife, with many internet users embracing gallows humor.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026

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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