hilarious

hi·lar·i·ous

adjective \hi-ˈler-ē-əs, hī-\

Definition of HILARIOUS

: marked by or causing hilarity : extremely funny

— hi·lar·i·ous·ly adverb

— hi·lar·i·ous·ness noun

Examples of HILARIOUS

1. Some people don't like his comedy, but I think he's hilarious.
2. She gave us a hilarious account of her first days as a teacher.
3. Raymond is different, so well written and acted, so perfectly pitched, that even the silences, especially the silences, are hilarious. It makes comedy look easy. —James Morris, Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2005
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tim Burton's adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved (by children) and reviled (by critics and librarians) book, is quirky, well acted, often hilarious, and visually sumptuous, but don't go to it expecting sweetness in anything except the title. —Richard Alleva, Commonweal, 12 Aug. 2005
5. In fairness, McEnroe does have genuine passion for the game, and his willingness to take on the sport's sacred cows is admirable. His candor and hilarious random ruminations as an analyst make even the most lopsided matches worth watching. —Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated, 17 Sept. 2001
6. Since his material is genuinely funny, at times hilarious, it makes for a smashing use of audio as a unique entertainment medium. Sedaris has an unexpectedly high-pitched voice that comes across as majorly mischievous in its delivery … —Publishers Weekly, 5 May 1997

Origin of HILARIOUS

irregular from Latin hilarus, hilaris cheerful, from Greek hilaros

First Known Use: circa 1840

Related to HILARIOUS

Synonyms

antic, chucklesome, comedic, comic, comical, droll, farcical, funny, humoristic, humorous, hysterical (also hysteric), killing, laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous, riotous, risible, screaming, sidesplitting, uproarious

Antonyms

humorless, lame, unamusing, uncomic, unfunny, unhumorous, unhysterical

Related Words

amusing, diverting, entertaining; clownish, knockabout, slapstick, slapsticky, zany; facetious, flip, flippant, pert, smart, smart-aleck, smart-alecky, snickery; jocular, playful, waggish; campy, jokey (also joky); priceless, rich, whimsical, witty, wry; blithesome, gleeful, jocose, jocund, jolly, jovial, laughing, mad, merry, mirthful

Near Antonyms

earnest, grave, no-nonsense, sedate, serious, severe, sober, sobersided, solemn, somber (or sombre), staid, unsmiling, weighty; affecting, moving, poignant, touching, tragic (also tragical); lachrymose, mournful, sad, sorrowful, tearful, woeful

Rhymes with HILARIOUS

Aquarius, burglarious, calcareous, contrarious, denarius, gregarious, malarious, nefarious, precarious, senarius, vagarious, vicarious