Definition of 'jovial'
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Word Frequency
jovial in British English
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
joviality (ˌjoviˈality) or jovialness (ˈjovialness) noun
jovially (ˈjovially)
adverb
Word origin
C16: from Latin joviālis of (the planet) Jupiter, considered by astrologers to foster good humour
Word Frequency
jovial in American English
adjective
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
jovial in American English
(ˈdʒouviəl)
adjective
SYNONYMS 1. merry, jolly, convivial, gay, joyful, mirthful. jovial, jocose, jocular, jocund agree in referring to someone who is in a good humor. jovial suggests a hearty, joyous humor: a jovial person. jocose refers to that which causes laughter; it suggests someone who is playful and given
to jesting: with jocose and comical airs. jocular means humorous, facetious, mirthful, and waggish: jocular enough to keep up the spirits of all around him. jocund, now a literary word, suggests a cheerful, light-hearted, and sprightly gaiety: glad and jocund company. ANTONYMS 1. gloomy.1.
a wonderfully jovial host
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
jovially adverb
jovialness
noun
Word origin
[1580–90; ‹ ML joviālis of Jupiter (the planet, supposed to exert a happy influence), equiv. to L jovi- ( see Jovian) + -ālis -al1]Examples of 'jovial' in a sentence
jovial
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Definition of jovial from the Collins English Dictionary
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