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jocund

play
adjective jo·cund \ ˈjä-kənd also ˈjō-(ˌ)kənd \

Definition of jocund

:marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness
  • a poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company
  • —William Wordsworth
—

jocundity

play \jō-ˈkən-də-tē, jä-\ noun
—

jocundly

play \ˈjä-kənd-lē, ˈjō-(ˌ)kənd-\ adverb

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Examples of jocund in a Sentence

  1. old friends engaged in jocund teasing

The Tricky Etymology of jocund

Don't let the etymology of jocund play tricks on you. The word comes from jucundus, a Latin word meaning "agreeable" or "delightful," and ultimately from the Latin verb juvare, meaning "to help." But jucundus looks and sounds a bit like jocus, the Latin word for "joke." These two roots took a lively romp through many centuries together and along the way the lighthearted jocus influenced the spelling and meaning of jucundus, an interaction that eventually produced our Modern English word jocund in the 14th century.

Origin and Etymology of jocund

Middle English, from Late Latin jocundus, alteration of Latin jucundus, from juvare to help

jocund Synonyms

Synonyms
blithesome, festive, gay, gleeful, jocose, jocular, merry, jolly, jovial, laughing, mirthful, sunny
Related Words
amused, beaming, chuckling, giggling, smiling; bright, buoyant, carefree, cheerful, cheery, chipper, lighthearted, lightsome, upbeat; animated, bouncing, frisky, jaunty, lively, peppy, perky, spirited, sprightful, sprightly, vivacious, zippy; blessed (also blest), blissful, delighted, ecstatic, elated, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, gladsome, happy, high, joyful, joyous, jubilant, overjoyed, radiant, rapturous, ravished, thrilled, tickled; amusing, facetious, flippant, frolicsome, funny, hilarious, jesting, joking, joshing, playful, sportive, witty; cavalier, devil-may-care, easygoing, happy-go-lucky, insouciant, unconcerned; hopeful, optimistic, rosy, sanguine; antic, comic, comical, farcical, humorous, riotous, sidesplitting, uproarious
Near Antonyms
abject, aggrieved, anguished, blue, brokenhearted, crestfallen, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, disheartened, dispirited, downcast, downhearted, forlorn, glum, heartbroken, heartsick, heavyhearted, low-spirited, melancholy, sad, saddened, sorrowful, unhappy; crying, groaning, moaning, sobbing, wailing, weeping; discontented, disgruntled, moody; doleful, dolorous, joyless, lachrymose, lugubrious, mournful, plaintive, sorry, woeful; black, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, dark, depressing, desolate, dismal, dreary, gloomy, glum, gray (also grey), morose, saturnine, somber (or sombre), sullen; miserable, woebegone, wretched; dull, lethargic, listless, sluggish, torpid

Synonym Discussion of jocund

merry, blithe, jocund, jovial, jolly mean showing high spirits or lightheartedness. merry suggests cheerful, joyous, uninhibited enjoyment of frolic or festivity.
    • a merry group of revelers
blithe suggests carefree, innocent, or even heedless gaiety.
    • arrived late in his usual blithe way
jocund stresses elation and exhilaration of spirits.
    • singing, dancing, and jocund feasting
jovial suggests the stimulation of conviviality and good fellowship.
    • dinner put them in a jovial mood
jolly suggests high spirits expressed in laughing, bantering, and jesting.
    • our jolly host enlivened the party

Learn More about jocund

  1. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for jocund

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Tip: Synonym Guide
Examples: jocund in a Sentence
Editor's Note: The Tricky Etymology of jocund