hilarity

From Latin hilaritas, "cheerfulness", from adjective hilaris, "cheerful", ultimately from Greek, + noun of state suffix -tas.

• IPA^(key): /hɪˈlæɹɪ.ti/

• Audio (Southern England)

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hilarity (countable and uncountable, plural hilarities)

1. (uncountable) A great amount of amusement, usually accompanied by laughter.

   The duck escaped into the children's party, and hilarity ensued.

   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 46, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

     In the rattle of the box, and of their agreeable conversation, Sir Francis’s spirits rose to their accustomed point of feeble hilarity.

2. (countable) Something that induces laughter.
   • 1999, Vincent Canby, Janet Maslin, Peter M. Nichols, The New York times guide to the best 1000 movies ever made:

     Think it not curious if we don't seem to be as sidesplittingly impressed with the hilarities in this picture as its promotion might lead you to expect. Hilarity is in it—hilarity at its best—as would be almost mandatory in any film with Miss Holliday.

   • 2005, Library journal, volume 130, numbers 8-13, page 122:

     Many other Latin imports have become staples of our diet, like the burrito, which in Spanish means "little donkey." What other food-related hilarities are we missing out on?

• cheerfulness
• buoyancy
• delight
• gaiety
• glee
• jauntiness
• merriment
• mirth

• hilarious