jocular

[jok-yuh-ler]

adjective

1. given to, characterized by, intended for, or suited to joking or jesting; waggish; facetious.

   jocular remarks about opera stars.

jocular

/ ˌdʒɒkjʊˈlærɪtɪ, ˈdʒɒkjʊlə /

adjective

1. characterized by joking and good humour

2. meant lightly or humorously; facetious

Other Word Forms

• jocularly adverb
• overjocular adjective
• overjocularly adverb
• semijocular adjective
• semijocularly adverb
• jocularity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of jocular¹

First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin joculāris, equivalent to jocul(us) “little joke” ( joc(us) joke + -ulus -ule ) + -āris -ar ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of jocular¹

C17: from Latin joculāris, from joculus little _joke

Synonym Study

See jovial.

Example Sentences

The incomprehensibility of it all, of every awful thing wreaking havoc at once, has Gus in a state of jocular shock.

From Los Angeles Times

The movie seems to recoil from its own hammering dramatics, with Bryce Dessner’s score toggling uneasily between jocular blues and dour, overcompensating strings.

From Los Angeles Times

The company’s aesthetic mode is wayward, oblique, loose and jocular.

From Los Angeles Times

Setting aside Trump’s often jocular calls for Canada to become America’s “51st state,” none of his neocolonial claims, even if successfully accomplished, would make the slightest difference to this country’s security or prosperity.

From Salon

And its inclusion in a national inventory of cultural heritage currently being created looks set to reignite the jocular dispute.

From BBC

Related Words

• cheerful 
• humorous 
• joking 
• jolly 
• jovial 
• lighthearted 
• playful 
• teasing