jovial

[ joh-vee-uhl ]

adjective

1. endowed with or characterized by a hearty, joyous humor or a spirit of good-fellowship:

   a wonderfully jovial host.

   Synonyms: mirthful, joyful, gay, convivial, jolly, merry

   Antonyms: gloomy

2. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the god Jove, or Jupiter.

jovial

/ ˈdʒəʊvɪəl /

adjective

1. having or expressing convivial humour; jolly

Derived Forms

• ˈjovially, adverb
• ˌjoviˈality, noun

Other Words From

• jovi·al·ly adverb
• jovi·al·ness noun
• un·jovi·al adjective
• un·jovi·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of jovial¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin joviālis “of Jupiter” (the planet, supposed to exert a happy influence), equivalent to Latin jovi- ( Jovian ) + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of jovial¹

C16: from Latin joviālis of (the planet) Jupiter, considered by astrologers to foster good humour

Synonym Study

Jovial, jocose, jocular, jocund agree in referring to someone who is in a good humor. Jovial suggests a hearty, joyous humor: a jovial person. Jocose refers to that which causes laughter; it suggests someone who is playful and given to jesting: with jocose and comical airs. Jocular means humorous, facetious, mirthful, and waggish: jocular enough to keep up the spirits of all around him. Jocund, now a literary word, suggests a cheerful, light-hearted, and sprightly gaiety: glad and jocund company.

Example Sentences

I tried really hard in between takes to just be jovial and make jokes and stuff like that.

From Los Angeles Times

Mark Hartman, the coach of that Little League championship team, said Flaherty was a jovial kid off the field, but never on it.

From Los Angeles Times

Maybe the intended effect was to make his questions look harder-hitting than those posed by jovial entertainers.

From Salon

The court heard Meadows had arrived on the island along with Ms Hughes and other family members the same afternoon on the ferry and had appeared "jovial".

From BBC

But, in the first season of the 10-year, $700 million contract he signed last December, he developed a reputation as one of the more jovial characters among this year’s cast of players.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• affable
• amiable
• buoyant
• cheery
• chipper
• convivial
• cordial
• festive
• good-natured
• jolly
• lighthearted
• pleasant
• sociable