Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

hilarity

[hi-lar-i-tee, -lair-, hahy-]
noun
  1. cheerfulness; merriment; mirthfulness.
  2. boisterous gaiety or merriment.
Show More

Origin of hilarity

1560–70; earlier hilaritie < Latin hilaritās, equivalent to hilari(s) (see hilarious) + -tās -ty2
Related formshy·per·hi·lar·i·ty, noun

Synonyms for hilarity

2. See mirth.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hilarities

merriment, amusement, fun, mirthfulness, cheerfulness, entertainment

Examples from the Web for hilarities

Historical Examples of hilarities

  • Never since my school-boy days have I loved so well as now the hilarities of life.

    The Abominations of Modern Society

    Rev. T. De Witt Talmage

British Dictionary definitions for hilarities

hilarity

noun
  1. mirth and merriment; cheerfulness
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hilarities

hilarity

n.

mid-15c., from Latin hilaritatem (nominative hilaritas) "cheerfulness, gaiety, merriment," from hilaris "cheerful, gay," from Greek hilaros "cheerful, gay, merry, joyous," related to hilaos "graceful, kindly." In ancient Rome, Hilaria (neuter plural of hilaris) were a class of holidays, times of pomp and rejoicing; there were public ones in honor of Cybele at the spring equinoxes as well as private ones on the day of a marriage or a son's birth.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper