Ways To Describe Laughter: Do You Know Your Lingo?

15 different ways to describe laughter in the English dictionary:

Ways to describe laughter

(Kuhn, 1994, as adapted by Berk, 2001)

Smirk: Slight, often fleeting upturning of the corners of the mouth, completely voluntary and controllable;
Smile: Silent, voluntary and controllable, more perceptible than a smirk; begins to release endorphins;
Cachinnate: To laugh loudly.
Grin: Silent, controllable, but uses more facial muscles (e.g., eyes begin to narrow);
Snicker: First emergence of sound with facial muscles, but still controllable (if you hold in a snicker, it builds up gas);
Giggle: Has a 50 percent chance of reversal to avoid a full laugh; sound of giggling is amusing; efforts to suppress it tend to increase its strength;
Chuckle: Involves chest muscles with deeper pitch;
Chortle: originates even deeper in the chest and involves muscles of torso; usually provokes laughter in others;

Burst out: To suddenly start laughing or crying
Collapse: If you collapse into laughter, you start laughing in an uncontrolled way
Crack up: To suddenly laugh a lot at something
Crease up: To start laughing, or to make someone laugh a lot
Die laughing: To laugh a lot
Get/have the giggles: To be unable to stop giggling
Giggly: Laughing a lot in a nervous, excited, or silly way
In fits: Laughing a lot
In hysterics: Laughing in an excited and uncontrolled way
In stitches: Laughing a lot
Kill yourself laughing: To laugh a lot
Lose it: To start laughing or crying and be unable to stop
Nearly/almost wet yourself: To laugh a lot
Split your sides: To laugh a lot
To dissolve into: If you dissolve into something such as tears or laughter, you begin to cry or laugh in an uncontrolled way

…and amusement, glee, hilarity, mirth, merriment, rejoicing, snort, snorting, chortling, har-de-har, tehee, tittering…

Sebastian Gendry 2020-09-24T09:27:52-08:00 The Laughter Blog |