gallows humor

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The series is wildly atmospheric with plenty of gallows humor and more than a few truly loopy plotlines, but great fun with Davis managing, as ever, to sell even the most preposterous scene.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Many China hawks in the administration have taken to gallows humor, calling the shift the ‘Busan Freeze,’ named for the South Korea meeting between the leaders that produced a fragile trade detente.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

“I meant it as a bit of gallows humor, but he answered by essentially saying, Actually, sort of,” Gluck, a journalist, writes in his forthcoming memoir, An Exercise in Uncertainty.

From Slate • May 2, 2025

Meetings are marked by occasional gallows humor about what catastrophe lurks around the corner.

From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2024

There was a good deal of gallows humor among us.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela