mirthful
Definitions
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WordNet 3.6
- adj mirthful arousing or provoking laughter "an amusing film with a steady stream of pranks and pratfalls","an amusing fellow","a comic hat","a comical look of surprise","funny stories that made everybody laugh","a very funny writer","it would have been laughable if it hadn't hurt so much","a mirthful experience","risible courtroom antics"
- adj mirthful full of or showing high-spirited merriment "when hearts were young and gay","a poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company"- Wordsworth","the jolly crowd at the reunion","jolly old Saint Nick","a jovial old gentleman","have a merry Christmas","peals of merry laughter","a mirthful laugh"
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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- Mirthful Full of mirth or merriment; merry; as, mirthful children.
- Mirthful Indicating or inspiring mirth; as, a mirthful face. "Mirthful , comic shows."
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
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- mirthful Full of mirth or gaiety; characterized by or accompanied with merriment; jovial; festive.
- mirthful Causing or provoking mirth or merriment.
- mirthful Synonyms Jovial, etc. (see jolly), gay, gleeful, sportive, playful.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
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- adj Mirthful full of mirth: causing mirth: merry: jovial
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Quotations
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“Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter. Sermons and soda water the day after.” -
“Fun I love, but too much fun is of all things the most loathsome. Mirth is better than fun, and happiness is better than mirth.” -
“Present mirth hath present laughter. What's to come is still unsure.” -
“Most of the appearance of mirth in the world is not mirth, it is art. The wounded spirit is not seen, but walks under a disguise.” -
“Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own.” -
“Since Time is not a person we can overtake when he is gone, let us honor him with mirth and cheerfulness of heart while he is passing.”
Etymology
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
A.S. myrgð—merg, merry.
Usage
In literature:
But to his amazement the elder man's face was all a-quiver with mirth and fairly eager.
"'Doc.' Gordon" by Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman
Experience had taught her that whenever mirth greeted an inquiry, that inquiry was ignored.
"The Poor Little Rich Girl" by Eleanor Gates
But there was one there who smiled almost fearfully, as if doubting his privilege of mirth in that gay, strange company.
"Pee-wee Harris on the Trail" by Percy Keese Fitzhugh
The boys were also in the highest good-humor; Kathleen's mirth was contagious.
"The Rebel of the School" by Mrs. L. T. Meade
He was unable to go to him, but called and inquired the cause of his mirth.
"The Memories of Fifty Years" by William H. Sparks
Voices reach our ears; but they are not, as usual, the voices of mirth and laughter.
"The Evil Eye; Or, The Black Spector The Works of William Carleton, Volume One" by William Carleton
Mirth in all its shapes, of laughter, glee, and song, rang out in every direction.
"The Emigrants Of Ahadarra The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two" by William Carleton
Wherever Barny came there was mirth, and a disposition to be pleased, so that his jokes always told.
"The Hedge School; The Midnight Mass; The Donagh Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of William Carleton, Volume Three" by William Carleton
Peter's wife was an excellent manager, and he himself a pleasant, good-humored man, full of whim and inoffensive mirth.
"Phil Purcel, The Pig-Driver; The Geography Of An Irish Oath; The Lianhan Shee" by William Carleton
But the mirth was very short-lived.
"For Woman's Love" by Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
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In poetry:
It falls as soft as the murmur
Of faint sweet summer rain,
But the mirth that lies hid in its rapture,
Is a mirth that brings me pain.
Of faint sweet summer rain,
But the mirth that lies hid in its rapture,
Is a mirth that brings me pain.
"Lord Of The Air" by Alexander Anderson
Some told him riches, pompe, or state;
Some rayment fine and brighte;
Some told him mirthe; some flatterye;
And some a jollye knighte.
Some rayment fine and brighte;
Some told him mirthe; some flatterye;
And some a jollye knighte.
"The Marriage of Sir Gawaine" by Anonymous British
And still she smiles half-wistfully, . .
O tender lips, O broken smile
Perjured from mirth to grief for me.
And yet supreme the while!
O tender lips, O broken smile
Perjured from mirth to grief for me.
And yet supreme the while!
"Medley " by E J Rupert Atkinson
Glory to God in highest Heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given,
While angels sing, with pious mirth,
A glad New Year to all the earth.
Who unto man His Son hath given,
While angels sing, with pious mirth,
A glad New Year to all the earth.
"From Heaven Above to Earth I Come" by Martin Luther
Then from the sedge a bird cried; and all changed.
Heaviness turned to mirth:
The willows the stream's cheek caressed,
The sun the earth.
Heaviness turned to mirth:
The willows the stream's cheek caressed,
The sun the earth.
"Happiness" by John Freeman
"This is Rimmon, Lord of the Earth—
"Fear Him and bow the knee!"
And I watch my comrades hide their mirth
That rode to the wars with me.
"Fear Him and bow the knee!"
And I watch my comrades hide their mirth
That rode to the wars with me.
"Rimmon" by Rudyard Kipling
In news:
Two parts "Network," one part "House of Mirth.
Neil Simon's Rumors provides two hours of pure mirth.
Mirth Chardonnay will at least make you smile.
For all the mirth he has provoked among TV comedians, Vice President Quayle did not blame the Los Angeles riots on Murphy Brown, the sitcom character.
San Diego Zoo's new baby panda video is 56 seconds of unbearable mirth .
So many letters provide mirth .
Owner looks to open second Mirth Cafe location in Tonganoxie.
Romney's Big Night – He Brought Tears of Mirth to Thousands (Hint – Romney Mocks Global Climate Change).
'Avengers' boss Joss Whedon mines mirth in Marvel idols.
Critics were quick to compare this French spy spoof to "Austin Powers," but really, this international man of mirth has his comedic ancestors in Inspector Clouseau and Frank Drebin, from "The Pink Panther" and "The Naked Gun" franchises.
Stanton Moore, the drummer in the funk band Galactic and the avant-funk group Garage a Trois, has been proving for years how mirth can be enough.
If that's true, then it's appropriate that a Canadian wrote the mischievously mirthful sort-of documentary The War of 1812 : Been There, Won That.
Muscle and mud make mirth in Michigan.
The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton.
Hamlet complains that he has of late, but wherefore he knows not, lost all his mirth.
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