different between laughable vs jocular

English

Etymology

From laugh +? -able.

Pronunciation

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /?la?f?bl?/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?l??f?bl?/, /?læf?bl?/
• (US) enPR: ?l?f?bl?, IPA^(key): /?læf?bl?/

Adjective

laughable (comparative more laughable, superlative most laughable)

1. (now rare) Fitted to excite laughter; humorous.
   • 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 91:

     At this our first dinner at the Government House a very laughable incident occurred.

2. Worthless; worthy of contempt or derision.

Synonyms

• droll, ludicrous, mirthful, comical, risible, ridiculous

Derived terms

• laughableness
• laughably

Translations

English

Etymology

From Latin iocularis, from ioculus (“a little jest”), diminutive of iocus (“a jest”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d??kj?l?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?d??kj?l?/

Adjective

jocular (comparative more jocular, superlative most jocular)

1. Humorous, amusing or joking.

   He was in a jocular mood all day.

   All we had was a short and jocular conversation.

   • 1865, Horatio Alger, Paul Prescott's Charge, chapter IV:

     From the tone of the speaker, the last words might be understood to be jocular.

   • 1896, H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau, chapter 15:

     Sometimes he would notice it, pat it, call it half-mocking, half-jocular names, and so make it caper with extraordinary delight.

   • 1910, Stephen Leacock, The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones:

     Then papa began to get very tired of Jones, and fidgeted and finally said, with jocular irony, that Jones had better stay all night, they could give him a shake-down.

Synonyms

• (humorous): jokey, silly, joculous; see also Thesaurus:witty

Antonyms

• (humorous): heartfelt, serious, sincere

Derived terms

Related terms

• joke

Translations

Further reading

• jocular in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• jocular in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• jocular at OneLook Dictionary Search