adjective
1Extremely amusing.
‘a hilarious dialogue from characters we never meet again’
- ‘Write an extremely best selling novel about my hilarious life in poverty and sell the TV and Film rights.’
- ‘The Web site also contains hilarious photos, humorous comics and cartoon strips.’
- ‘It was here that the dialogue reached hilarious, and this troupe had a knack for that level of funny.’
- ‘For comic effect it has a character whose supposedly hilarious weakness is to use phrases that have gone out of fashion.’
- ‘When the first play comes to its hilarious, farcical close the audience is left gasping for air.’
- ‘Some of the humorous incidents described in the book are incisively hilarious.’
- ‘There are no signposts and definitely no laughter tracks, but the dialogue is bone dry and the script hilarious.’
- ‘Now one half of this comic couple will bring his hilarious show to the Hawk's Well Theatre.’
- ‘It's a hilarious film full of gems of comic absurdity that are mixed in with nonchalant understatement.’
- ‘I think you will enjoy his anecdotes and retelling of some of the hilarious scenes he wrote for those two most loved of funny men.’
- ‘They thought that was hilarious, and linked arms, shaking with mirth like hysterical Siamese twins.’
- ‘She views most of the press hysteria surrounding her, for example, as hilarious.’
- ‘The nun's attempts to flee from the convent supposedly create hilarious situations.’
- ‘Another hilarious aspect to the film is how, on a certain level, it takes itself so very seriously.’
- ‘I am now in the hilarious position of being an embarrassment to all concerned.’
- ‘While getting this message across, the audience is treated to hilarious scenes.’
- ‘The ensuing altercations and hilarious testimonies provided an exciting two hours!’
- ‘The hilarious production is based on the works of Harvard mathematician and songwriter, Tom Lehrer.’
- ‘His hilarious five-minute soliloquy about his complex wedding arrangements was fabulous.’
- ‘Coming up later today, more from this hilarious, revealing and essential article.’
very funny, extremely amusing, hysterically funny, hysterical, uproarious, riotous, farcical, side-splitting, rib-tickling, too funny for words
View synonyms- 1.1archaic Boisterously merry.
‘an old man was in hilarious conversation with three young men’
- ‘Rachel from north London recalls an hilarious conversation with Sir Ian Blair.’
amusing, entertaining, animated, high-spirited, lively, funny, witty, droll, merry, jolly, jovial, jocular, mirthful, cheerful, vivacious, sparkling, uproarious, boisterous, noisy, rowdy
View synonyms
Origin
Early 19th century from Latin hilaris (from Greek hilaros ‘cheerful’) + -ous. The sense ‘exceedingly amusing’ dates from the 1920s.