levity

/ˈlɛvədi/

Other forms: levities

Joking that your dead grandmother "never looked better" could inject some levity, or frivolity, into her funeral, but your relatives might find your joke inappropriate to the occasion.

Levity literally means "lightness," and it's often an attempt to inject some lightness or humor into an otherwise somber situation. Telling your Aunt Edna a joke while she recuperates from a skiing accident could provide the levity needed to brighten her mood. Yet levity is often used to describe humor that's not appropriate to the occasion, like telling jokes during a funeral.

Definitions of levity

1. noun

   a manner lacking seriousness
   types:

   flippancy, light-mindedness

   inappropriate levity

   humorousness, jocoseness, jocosity, merriness

   the trait of merry joking

   type of:

   frivolity, frivolousness

   the trait of being frivolous; not serious or sensible
2. noun

   feeling an inappropriate lack of seriousness
   antonyms:

   gravity

   a solemn and dignified feeling

   types:

   gaiety, playfulness

   a festive merry feeling

   type of:

   feeling

   the experiencing of affective and emotional states