jocular

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈdʒɑkjələr/ UK /ˈdʒɒkjʊlə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
fond of joking; humorous or playful

His jocular manner put the nervous interviewees at ease.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · fond of joking; humorous or... humorous playful facetious jocosewaggishdroll witty

Opposites

serious solemn grave

Word family

Forms jocularity

Derived forms jocularlyjocularity

Related forms jocose joke jest

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

jocular expression
a playful or joking phrase, or an amused look on someone’s face

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Jocular comes from Latin jocus, meaning “jest” or “wordplay,” the Latin source also associated with joke. It is recorded from the late Middle English period in the sense “professional jester,” while its use as an adjective dates from the early 17th century.

Etymology

From Latin 'iocularis' ('funny, comic'), from 'ioculus' ('little joke'), diminutive of 'iocus' ('joke, jest').

iocularis Latin iocus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# jocular

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈdʒɑkjələr/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdʒɒkjʊlə/

## Meanings
1. fond of joking; humorous or playful

## Examples
- His jocular manner put the nervous interviewees at ease.

## Synonyms
- humorous
- playful
- facetious
- jocose
- waggish
- droll
- witty

## Antonyms
- serious
- solemn
- grave

## Derived Forms
- jocularly
- jocularity

## Related Forms
- jocose
- joke
- jest

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: iocularis
- Root: iocus

## Etymology
From Latin 'iocularis' ('funny, comic'), from 'ioculus' ('little joke'), diminutive of 'iocus' ('joke, jest').

## AI Etymology
Jocular is from Latin 'iocularis' ('funny, comic'), from 'ioculus' ('little joke'), diminutive of 'iocus' ('joke, jest'). Important recorded forms include iocularis (Latin) and iocus (Latin). The current sense covers fond of joking; humorous or playful. The wider family includes derived forms such as jocularly and jocularity and related words such as jocose, joke, and jest.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown