ˈhjuːmɚ hjuː.mə(ɹ) ˈhjuː.mə(ɹ) ˈhjuːmɚ ˈwɪ.tɪ.sɪz.əm a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter The quality of being clever, amusingly ingenious. And the result would be that he would kill the wittiness of the lines by burlesque.