Meaning & use
boisterous laugh
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Meanings
nouncountable
A loud, energetic laugh that shows strong, unchecked good humor.
Grammar: Countable: you can say "a boisterous laugh" or "boisterous laughs" for more than one.
Patterns
- let out a boisterous laugh
- a boisterous laugh from someone
- with a boisterous laugh
When the punchline landed, the whole table broke into a boisterous laugh.
He has a boisterous laugh that you can hear from the other end of the building.
She let out a boisterous laugh and slapped the table with delight.
nounsingular
The loud, rowdy sound of people laughing together in a lively way.
Grammar: Usually singular with "the" when you mean the noise itself rather than one person's laugh.
Patterns
- the boisterous laugh of a crowd
- be heard above the boisterous laugh
The boisterous laugh of the crowd spilled out into the street.
You could hear the boisterous laugh of the players long after the game ended.
Common combinations
- let out a boisterous laugh
- She let out a boisterous laugh when she saw the photo.
- a boisterous laugh echoed
- A boisterous laugh echoed through the hall.
- break into a boisterous laugh
- The audience broke into a boisterous laugh at his joke.
- a loud, boisterous laugh
- His loud, boisterous laugh filled the small kitchen.
- with a boisterous laugh
- "You're kidding!" he said with a boisterous laugh.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hearty laugh
- A hearty laugh is warm and full of feeling; it need not be as loud or as rowdy as a boisterous one.
- belly laugh
- A belly laugh is deep and comes from the stomach, while a boisterous laugh stresses noise and lively energy.
- guffaw
- A guffaw is one sudden, rough burst of laughter; a boisterous laugh may last longer and sound more cheerful than rough.
Opposites
Word family
- boisterously adverb
- In a noisy, energetic way: "They laughed boisterously."
- boisterousness noun
- The quality of being loud and lively.
- boisterous adjective
- Noisy, energetic, and hard to control, used of people, crowds, or weather.
Commonly confused: boisterous laugh or raucous laugh? boisterous laugh or boisterous laughter?
boisterous laugh vs raucous laugh
Raucous describes a harsh, rough sound and often suggests unpleasant noise; boisterous is livelier and more good-natured.
boisterous laugh vs boisterous laughter
This is the uncountable form for the laughing in general, while "a boisterous laugh" means one single laugh.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
"A boisterous laugh" is a loud, cheerful laugh, so it fits a lively table of people. Option 1 fails because something boisterous is loud, not quiet. Option 2 uses the noun phrase where a verb or adjective is needed. Option 3 fails because a boisterous laugh shows good humor, not sadness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “boisterous laugh”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.