Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- interj. Used to express doubt, displeasure, or contempt.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- An exclamation uttered in the manner of a grunt, and expressive of disbelief, doubt, or dissatisfaction.
- To utter the syllable humph, as in dissatisfaction; mutter; grumble.
Wiktionary
- interj. Used to express doubt or disapproval
GNU Webster's 1913
- interj. An exclamation denoting surprise, or contempt, doubt, etc.
Examples
“I am not well assured whether an attack of the "humph" -- "the humph which is black and blue" -- is not also diagnosed by the contemplative insects and forthwith attended to.”
“Kirsteen, wounded, could not refrain from saying, "My mother wanted me," which was met solely by that impatient indifference which we render badly by the word humph!”
“humph" -- not that he doubted the truth of the Word, but that he doubted its applicability on the present occasion.”
“So even if you're busy with whatever it is you're doing and you hear your partner laugh at the TV or say "humph," it's a bid for your attention and you should inquire.”
Jane Minogue: A Champagne Toast to the 50 percent Who Stay Married
“There's a main funny character I think of as the Chinese Xander and his female counterpart who goes "humph" in the cutest way.”
“I am not well assured whether an attack of the “humph” — “the humph which is black and blue” — is not also diagnosed by the contemplative insects and forthwith attended to.”
“She pointed to the companionway for him to take the board to his commander and with another "humph" he stomped off.”
“The good-wife with a "humph" and a sigh forsook the battle,”
Poems Teachers Ask For Selected by readers of "Normal Instructor-Primary Plans"
“The Doctor answered my inquiry with a non-committal "humph" of the most professional sort.”
“Now 'humph' bears different interpretations; it may argue assent, indifference, disgust, disapprobation -- in all cases it is aggressive; but this 'humph' seemed to be a combination of at least three of the above-mentioned frames of mind.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘humph’.
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sound (quiet)
words for quiet sounds
( randomness, descriptive )sigh, murmur, whisper, whir, rustle, patter, hum, snap, hiss(sss), crackle, bleat, peep and 185 more...
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Grunts, Sounds, Calls
Aah, achoo, ack, ah, aha, ahem, ah-ha, aw, baa, bah, blah, boo and 64 more...
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Rognons of Random Palavery
Another of my random palavery lists for terms and phrases that don't fit into any of my other lists.
priorship, exigeant, refectory, reestablish, capper, reesed, quar, reprune, orificial, reaming-iron, terminist, terminism and 3097 more...
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Professional Scrabble Lexicon (TWL)
A myriad of game-changing words every Scrabble addict must have in his arsenal.
Keep in mind that these are all tried-and-true feasibly playable words selected for their handiness, i.e...paragon, pignora, ganef, suttee, origan, ohia, aioli, abasement, lehr, mho, tallow, harelike and 843 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for humph.
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