Meaning & use
mirth
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Meaning
noununcountableliterary
Cheerful laughter and a lively sense of fun shared by a group.
Grammar: Uncountable: the room was full of mirth; not a mirth.
Patterns
- with mirth
- full of mirth
The children's mirth filled the whole house on Christmas morning.
His clumsy dance caused great mirth among the guests.
She could not hide her mirth when the dog stole the sandwich.
Common combinations
- roar with mirth
- The audience roared with mirth at the clown's tricks.
- cause mirth
- His old hat caused much mirth at the party.
- full of mirth
- The old tavern was full of mirth and song.
- hearty mirth
- The speech was met with hearty mirth.
- mirth and merriment
- The festival was a time of mirth and merriment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- merriment
- Merriment is almost the same but stresses lively festivity, while mirth stresses the laughter.
- amusement
- Amusement is the quiet enjoyment of something funny and can be silent, while mirth is more visible and loud.
- glee
- Glee often includes pleasure at something lucky or at someone else's trouble, which mirth does not.
- hilarity
- Hilarity means loud, uncontrolled laughter and is stronger and more modern than mirth.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: mirth or mirth vs. myrrh?
mirth vs mirth vs. myrrh
Myrrh is a sweet-smelling resin used in perfumes and incense, and it is pronounced /mɜː/ without the th sound. Mirth is the word for laughter.
Practice
The old man's story about the runaway goat was greeted with loud ____ around the fire.
Choose one answer.
Mirth means cheerful laughter, which fits a funny story. Sorrow and dread describe sadness and fear, and do not fit a funny story.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mirth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.