hilarious

[hi-lair-ee-uhs, -lar-, hahy-]

adjective

1. arousing great merriment; extremely funny.

   a hilarious story; a hilarious old movie.

2. boisterously merry or cheerful.

   a hilarious celebration.

   Synonyms: high-spirited, rollicking, jolly, lively
   Antonyms: solemn, serious, sad

3. merry; cheerful.

hilarious

/ hɪˈlɛərɪəs /

adjective

1. very funny or merry

Other Word Forms

• hilariously adverb
• hilariousness noun
• hyperhilarious adjective
• hyperhilariously adverb
• hyperhilariousness noun
• unhilarious adjective
• unhilariously adverb
• unhilariousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hilarious¹

1815–25; < Latin hilar ( is ), hilar ( us ) cheerful (< Greek hilarós ) + -ious

Word History and Origins

Origin of hilarious¹

C19: from Latin hilaris glad, from Greek hilaros

Example Sentences

But it was Yang in prosthetics as Dobby the House Elf from “Harry Potter” who won the night despite a hilarious wardrobe malfunction — his rag outfit kept coming off at the shoulder.

From Los Angeles Times

In a hilarious bit of irony, Linda is also dealing with a patient whose breakdown might be even worse than hers.

From Los Angeles Times

Glen, it was really fun to see you on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week talking about the show and your mom’s hilarious cameo.

From Los Angeles Times

“I think a lot of it was hilarious towards me,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

“Obviously he was hilarious and very original,” says Carmen Christopher, the stand-up comedian and actor from “The Bear.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amusing 
• comical 
• entertaining 
• humorous 
• laughable 
• lively 
• priceless 
• uproarious 

When To Use

What does hilarious mean?

Hilarious means extremely funny, like literally lol funny.Hilarious is most commonly used to describe someone or something (like a joke or a movie) as super funny. Much less commonly, it used to mean very merry or cheerful, as in a hilarious celebration.Example: The movie was absolutely hilarious—I was laughing so hard at one point that I was crying.