Dictionary

hilarity en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /hɪˈlæɹɪ.ti/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Latin hilaritās (“cheerfulness”), from hilaris (“cheerful”), from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός (hilarós, “cheerful”). By surface analysis, Latin hilar(ō) + -i- + -ty.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) A great amount of amusement, usually accompanied by much laughter.
   • In the rattle of the box, and of their agreeable conversation, Sir Francis’s spirits rose to their accustomed point of feeble hilarity. 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 46, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
   • […] it is up to ‘the Left’ to offer a dream-hungry mankind something more exciting than the assurance that, once the state nationalizes everything […] bureaucracy will be done away with and general happiness and hilarity will prevail. 1981 March 14, Leszek Kolakowski, “Miliband's Anti-Kolakowski”, in Political Studies, volume 29, number 1, Sage Publishing, →DOI, →ISSN, page 125:
   • When the new baby's rubber duck squeaked at the wedding, hilarity ensued.
2. (countable) Something that induces much laughter.
   • Think it not curious if we don't seem to be as sidesplittingly impressed with the hilarities in this picture as its promotion might lead you to expect. Hilarity is in it—hilarity at its best—as would be almost mandatory in any film with Miss Holliday. 1999, Vincent Canby, Janet Maslin, Peter M. Nichols, The New York times guide to the best 1000 movies ever made:
   • Many other Latin imports have become staples of our diet, like the burrito, which in Spanish means "little donkey." What other food-related hilarities are we missing out on? 2005, Library journal, volume 130, numbers 8-13, page 122:

Forms

Deriveds

ridicularity

Relateds

hilarious

Synonyms

jauntiness · mirth · buoyancy · delight · merriment · glee · cheerfulness · gaiety

Translations (23)

da morsomhed (something inducing laughter) · ru весе́лье (mirthfulness) · de Witz (something inducing laughter) · ca hilaritat (mirthfulness) · pt hilaridade (something inducing laughter) · bg смешка (something inducing laughter) · bg веселие (mirthfulness) · ro ilaritate (something inducing laughter) · pl głupawka (something inducing laughter) · it ilarità (mirthfulness) · pt hilaridade (mirthfulness) · ga meidhir (mirthfulness) · gv ard-aittys (something inducing laughter) · de Ausgelassenheit (mirthfulness) · de Heiterkeit (mirthfulness) · de Fröhlichkeit (mirthfulness) · gd sogan (mirthfulness) · ja ハピネス (mirthfulness) · da munterhed (mirthfulness) · gv ard-ghennalys (mirthfulness) · de Komik (something inducing laughter) · eo amuzego (something inducing laughter) · ro râsete (something inducing laughter)