Adjacent Words

Laughing definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LAUGHING, ppr. l'affing. Expressing mirth in a particular manner.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness; "laughing children" [syn: laughing, riant]

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. laughter. --adj. in senses of LAUGH v. Phrases and idioms: laughing-gas nitrous oxide as an anaesthetic, formerly used without oxygen and causing an exhilarating effect when inhaled. laughing hyena see HYENA. laughing jackass = KOOKABURRA. laughing-stock a person or thing open to general ridicule. no laughing matter something serious. Derivatives: laughingly adv.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Laugh Laugh, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Laughed; p. pr. & vb. n. Laughing.] [OE. laughen, laghen, lauhen, AS. hlehhan, hlihhan, hlyhhan, hliehhan; akin to OS. hlahan, D. & G. lachen, OHG. hlahhan, lahhan, lahh?n, Icel. hl[ae]ja. Dan. lee, Sw. le, Goth. hlahjan; perh. of imitative origin.] 1. To show mirth, satisfaction, or derision, by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face, particularly of the mouth, causing a lighting up of the face and eyes, and usually accompanied by the emission of explosive or chuckling sounds from the chest and throat; to indulge in laughter. Queen Hecuba laughed that her eyes ran o'er. --Shak. He laugheth that winneth. --Heywood's Prov. 2. Fig.: To be or appear gay, cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport. Then laughs the childish year, with flowerets crowned. --Dryden. In Folly's cup still laughs the bubble Joy. --Pope. To laugh at, to make an object of laughter or ridicule; to make fun of; to deride. No wit to flatter left of all his store, No fool to laugh at, which he valued more. --Pope. To laugh in the sleeve

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Laughing Laugh"ing, a. & n. from Laugh, v. i. Laughing falcon (Zo["o]l.), a South American hawk (Herpetotheres cachinnans); -- so called from its notes, which resemble a shrill laughing. Laughing gas (Chem.), hyponitrous oxide, or protoxide of nitrogen

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Merry, mirthful, gay, gleeful. II. n. Laughter.

Moby Thesaurus

Homeric laughter, beaming, beatific, beatified, belly laugh, blessed, blissful, blithe, blithesome, boff, boffola, bright, bright and sunny, burst of laughter, cachinnation, cackle, capering, cheerful, cheery, chirping, chortle, chuckle, convulsion, crow, dancing, elated, eupeptic, euphoric, exalted, exhilarated, fit of laughter, flushed, flushed with joy, gales of laughter, gay, genial, giggle, glad, gladsome, glowing, guffaw, ha-ha, happy, hearty laugh, hee-haw, hee-hee, high, hilarity, ho-ho, hopeful, horselaugh, in good spirits, in high spirits, irrepressible, joyful, joyous, laugh, laughter, leaping, of good cheer, optimistic, outburst of laughter, peal of laughter, pleasant, purring, radiant, riant, risibility, roar of laughter, rosy, sanguine, sanguineous, shout, shout of laughter, shriek, singing, smiling, smirking, snicker, snigger, snort, sparkling, starry-eyed, sunny, tee-hee, thrice happy, titter, winsome, yuck, yuk-yuk