hilarity
Americannoun
-
cheerfulness; merriment; mirthfulness.
-
boisterous gaiety or merriment.
noun
Synonym Usage
See mirth.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hilarity
1560–70; earlier hilaritie, from Latin hilaritās, equivalent to hilari(s) ( see hilarious) + -tās -ty 2
Explanation
Hilarity is that side-splitting, tear-inducing, laugh-until-you-can't-breathe happiness of a romping good time. There's usually an atmosphere of hilarity just after the ball drops on New Year's Eve. It's that feeling of cheerfulness — hilaritas in Latin — that fills the room when the clock strikes midnight. If your teacher passes out cupcakes and lets you play games instead of reading aloud, she may have a hard time controlling the ensuing hilarity in the classroom.
Vocabulary lists containing hilarity
The London Eye Mystery
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Bill Parcells' Hall of Fame Induction Speech
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From his New Orleans roots to establishing himself in New York, Normand has built a reputation as a relentless joke writer whose material is spiked with hilarity through somewhat twisted interpretations.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
In recent years, creator Bill Lawrence has struck chords with emotional, warm-hearted hits like “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking,” but this is where his blend of heart and hilarity really came together.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026
Kate Riley follows Ruth from childhood to middle age, writing with kindness, hilarity and aphoristic brilliance about this eccentric woman, a lost lamb who never actually leaves the safety of the flock.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025
The prime minister made the juggling hand gesture that accompanies the reference, prompting class-wide hilarity.
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2025
The ceilings had set off a ghostly echo, giving all that desperate hilarity the quality of a memory even as I sat listening to it, memories of things I’d never known.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
