hilarity
Americannoun
-
cheerfulness; merriment; mirthfulness.
-
boisterous gaiety or merriment.
noun
Synonym Usage
See mirth.
Other Word 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.
Now, with her latest show Youth, Horgan puts the spotlight on 50-something women, imbued with her trademark tightly balanced mix of hilarity and pathos.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Rachel Bonnetta opened the show with a mix of playful confidence and high-energy hilarity, perfectly warming up the crowd before introducing the main attraction to fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 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
So is their occasional lapse into dry hilarity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
And he told me, and I have to say, Alaska left us with the crown jewel of pranks, the Mona Lisa of high-school hilarity, the culmination of generations of Culver Creek pranking.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
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.
