mirth

[murth]

noun

1. gaiety or jollity, especially when accompanied by laughter.

   the excitement and mirth of the holiday season.

   Antonyms: gloom

2. amusement or laughter.

   He was unable to conceal his mirth.

mirth

/ mɜːθ /

noun

1. laughter, gaiety, or merriment

Other Word Forms

• mirthless adjective
• mirthlessness noun
• mirthfulness noun
• mirthful adjective
• mirthfully adverb
• mirthlessly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of mirth¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English mirthe, Old English myrgth. See merry, -th ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of mirth¹

Old English myrgth; compare _merry

Synonym Study

Mirth, glee, hilarity, merriment, jollity, joviality refer to the gaiety characterizing people who are enjoying the companionship of others. Mirth suggests spontaneous amusement or gaiety, manifested briefly in laughter: uncontrolled outbursts of mirth. Glee suggests an effervescence of high spirits or exultation, often manifested in playful or ecstatic gestures; it may apply also to a malicious rejoicing over mishaps to others: glee over the failure of a rival. Hilarity implies noisy and boisterous mirth, often exceeding the limits of reason or propriety: hilarity aroused by practical jokes. Merriment suggests fun, good spirits, and good nature rather than the kind of wit and sometimes artificial funmaking that cause hilarity: The house resounded with music and sounds of merriment. Jollity and joviality may refer either to a general atmosphere of mirthful festivity or to the corresponding traits of individuals. Jollity implies an atmosphere of easy and convivial gaiety, a more hearty merriment or a less boisterous hilarity: The holiday was a time of jollity. Joviality implies a more mellow merriment generated by people who are hearty, generous, benevolent, and high-spirited: the joviality of warm-hearted friends.

Example Sentences

The games, the tedium, the comfort of nostalgia, the sting and fury of old resentments: It’s an experience of mirth and misery alike.

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Miss Mortimer had to wipe tears of mirth from the corner of her eye with the napkin.

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But among others, like Aleysha, there is an inexplicable element of mirth.

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Eventually, though, expenses, questionable bookkeeping by associates and bad investments ate his savings, and in 1987, at 38 and weighing nearly 300 pounds, he announced, to the mirth of many, his comeback.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller, which infuses vaudevillian mirth into “The Princess and the Pea,” has been updated by Amy Sherman-Palladino to be more in keeping with contemporary sensitivities.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hilarity 
• laughter 
• levity 
• rejoicing