different between cheerful vs hilarious

English

Alternative forms

• cheerfull (archaic)
• chearful (archaic or dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English chereful, cherful, equivalent to cheer +? -ful.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?t????f?l/, /?t????f?l/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?t????f?l/, /?t????f?l/
• Hyphenation: cheer?ful
• Rhymes: -??rf?l

Adjective

cheerful (comparative more cheerful, superlative most cheerful)

1. Noticeably happy and optimistic.

   Synonyms: bright, bubbly, cheerly, ebullient, happy, joyful, merry, optimistic, vivacious; see also Thesaurus:happy

   Antonyms: depressed, miserable, sad

2. Bright and pleasant.

   • At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.

Translations

English

Etymology

From Latin hilaris (“cheerful”), from Ancient Greek ?????? (hilarós, “cheerful, merry”), from ????? (hílaos, “propitious, gracious, kind”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /h??l???i?s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /h??le?i?s/, /ha??le?i?s/
• (New England) IPA^(key): /h??læ?i?s/, /ha??læ?i?s/
• (Mary–marry–merry distinction) (New England)
• Rhymes: -??ri?s

Adjective

hilarious (comparative more hilarious, superlative most hilarious)

1. Very funny; causing great merriment and laughter.

2. Full of hilarity; merry.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:funny

Derived terms

• hilarity
• hilariously
• hilariousness

Related terms

• exhilarate
• exhilaration
• Hilary

Translations