levity.

A humorous or unserious manner, especially where seriousness is expected.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a moment of levity
• inappropriate levity

On the page

A moment of levity eased the long wait.

The magistrate took his levity as an insult to the court.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.