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definitions

jocular

[jok-yuh-ler]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jocular ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

given to, characterized by, intended for, or suited to joking or jesting; waggish; facetious: jocular remarks about opera stars.

Origin of jocular

1620–30; < Latin joculāris, equivalent to jocul(us) little joke (joc(us) joke + -ulus -ule) + -āris -ar1
Related formsjoc·u·lar·ly, adverbo·ver·joc·u·lar, adjectiveo·ver·joc·u·lar·ly, adverbsem·i·joc·u·lar, adjectivesem·i·joc·u·lar·ly, adverb
Can be confusedjocose jocular jocund jovial (see synonym study at jovial)

Synonyms for jocular

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jocular ON THESAURUS.COM
See jovial.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for jocularly

facetiously, jocularly

Examples from the Web for jocularly

Historical Examples of jocularly

  • "There's plenty of room for nephews and nieces," Mr. Withells said jocularly.

    Jan and Her Job

    L. Allen Harker

  • "S'pose you're a millionaire by this time, chicken," said the youth, jocularly.

  • "You may reach the city after the banks are closed for the day, you know," he added, jocularly.

  • It was jocularly styled the 'tea table,' and was used as a whipping place also.

    Bygone Punishments

    William Andrews

  • I talked volubly, jocularly, persuasively, tenderly; I talked in a subdued tone.

British Dictionary definitions for jocularly

jocular

adjective

characterized by joking and good humour
meant lightly or humorously; facetious
Derived Formsjocularity (ˌdʒɒkjʊˈlærɪtɪ), nounjocularly, adverb

Word Origin for jocular

C17: from Latin joculāris, from joculus little joke
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 jocularly

jocular

adj.

1620s, from Latin iocularis "funny, comic," from ioculus, diminutive of iocus (see joke (n.)). Implies evasion of an issue by a joke.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper