mirthless
adjective
mirth·less
ˈmərth-ləs 
: containing no gaiety or joy
A vague mirthless grin contracted Liff Hyatt's face …—
Edith Wharton
Edith WhartonVoldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh.—J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
mirthlessness
noun
Examples of mirthless in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet there was a mirthless response from those around him; a realisation there was an element of truth to his chant.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Susan Faludi Laugh-In On the joyful Kamala Harris and the mirthless Donald Trump
Nathaniel Rich
Silent Spring
Why aren’t the candidates talking about climate change?
—Patricia J. Williams, The New York Review of Books, 18 Oct. 2024
Cheung, who has only one friend at work (Leo Chen), fields mirthless calls from his wife and daughter in Taiwan that are always about money, nothing else.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 May 2024
Not so much for Ben Affleck, a Boston fan whose train wreck of a set aimed for a cartoonish attack on fans who criticize the quarterback but felt real and mirthless.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 7 May 2024
In a fanciful twist, Texas and California have cast their red-blue animus aside and forged the Western Forces, a secessionist axis seeking to topple the President (the ruthless, mirthless Nick Offerman), a despot who has appointed himself to a third term.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
The conversation plays out in full and without commentary: The irony of having to humor the advances of one man to prove those of another is plain and startling, though Ito, long hardened to such cruelties, also finds dry, mirthless humor in them.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 26 Jan. 2024
Cline writes in a sleek, cool style that conveys both Alex’s naivete and her mirthless irony.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 9 May 2023
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Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Susan Faludi Laugh-In On the joyful Kamala Harris and the mirthless Donald Trump
Nathaniel Rich
Silent Spring
Why aren’t the candidates talking about climate change?
—Patricia J. Williams, The New York Review of Books, 18 Oct. 2024
Cheung, who has only one friend at work (Leo Chen), fields mirthless calls from his wife and daughter in Taiwan that are always about money, nothing else.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 May 2024
Not so much for Ben Affleck, a Boston fan whose train wreck of a set aimed for a cartoonish attack on fans who criticize the quarterback but felt real and mirthless.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 7 May 2024
In a fanciful twist, Texas and California have cast their red-blue animus aside and forged the Western Forces, a secessionist axis seeking to topple the President (the ruthless, mirthless Nick Offerman), a despot who has appointed himself to a third term.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
The conversation plays out in full and without commentary: The irony of having to humor the advances of one man to prove those of another is plain and startling, though Ito, long hardened to such cruelties, also finds dry, mirthless humor in them.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 26 Jan. 2024
Cline writes in a sleek, cool style that conveys both Alex’s naivete and her mirthless irony.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 9 May 2023
Cite this Entry
“Mirthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mirthless. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
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