hilarity

[hi-lar-i-tee, -lair-, hahy-]

noun

1. cheerfulness; merriment; mirthfulness.

2. boisterous gaiety or merriment.

hilarity

/ hɪˈlærɪtɪ /

noun

1. mirth and merriment; cheerfulness

Other Word Forms

• hyperhilarity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hilarity¹

1560–70; earlier hilaritie, from Latin hilaritās, equivalent to hilari(s) ( hilarious ) + -tās -ty ²

Synonym Study

See mirth.

Example Sentences

Cassandra Peterson understands the power of a movie night — or more specifically, the kind of movie night that wobbles between horror and hilarity, where the fake blood maybe gleams brighter than the budget.

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But farce is a universal language, and the hilarity is not just translated but alchemized into something riotously contemporary.

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That dynamic yields both dramatic tension and hilarity as Theo and Ivy begin to resent each other.

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The team and its attendant hilarity are picked up by the CW after building a massive social media following.

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Part of the appeal of “Oh, Mary!” is that it just wants to give audiences a concentrated dose of hilarity.

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Related Words

• amusement 
• merriment