jovial
Syllables: jov·i·alUK/ˈd͡ʒəʊ.vɪ.əl//ˈd͡ʒoʊ.vɪ.əl/
jovial adjective: cheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry.
Adjective (1)
jovial (comparative more jovial, superlative most jovial)
- Cheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry.
- A melancholy boddy is not the kindeſt nurſe for a chearely minde, (the joviall complexion is ſoverainly beholding to nature,) […]1593, Gabriell Haruey [i.e., Gabriel Harvey], Pierces Supererogation: Or A New Prayse of the Old Asse. A Preparative to Certaine Larger Discourses, Intituled Nashes S. Fame, London: […] Iohn Wolfe...
- The moſt ſecure, happy, Ioviall & merry in the worlds eſteeme, are Princes & great men, free from melancholy, but for their cares, miſeries, ſuſpicions, Iealoſies, diſcontents, folly, & madneſſe, I referre you to Xenophons Tyrannus, where king Hieron diſcourſeth at large with Simonides the Poet, of...1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Democritvs Ivnior to the Reader”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for...
- Synonyms:
- berserk, blissed out, blithe, buoyant, chirpy, blithesome, bonnie, bright, cheerful, cheerly
- Antonyms:
- saturnine, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless, chopfallen
- Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1).
- This Planet [Jupiter] being a Fortune, and Friend unto nature, inclineth the native, upon this direction, not only unto healthfulneſs, but alſo to be jovial and merry, affable and pleaſant, and to delight in the company of religious men: […] [T]his direction importeth good from jovial perſons, and...1682, Joseph Blagrave, “[The Effects of Directions.] The Ascendant to the Body of Jupiter.”, in Obadiah Blagrave, editor, Blagrave’s Introduction to Astrology. In Three Parts. […], London: Printed by...
- As ☉ is near to a ⚹ of ♃, so did a jovial man endeavour to procure the purchase (after I began), but ♃ is cadent and in detriment, which shewed he should not prevail.1852, William Lilly, Zadkiel [pseudonym; Richard James Morrison], “Of the Fourth House, and Judgments Depending thereon”, in An Introduction to Astrology […]: A Grammar of Astrology, and Tables for...
Adjective (2) capitalized: Jovial
Jovial (not comparable)
- Pertaining to the planet Jupiter; Jovian.
- Pertaining to the Roman god Jove or Jupiter (the counterpart of the Greek god Zeus), the god of the sky and thunder and the king of the gods; Jovian.
- I know the ſhape of's Legge: this is his Hand: / His Foote Mercuriall: his martiall Thigh / The brawnes of Hercules: but his Iouiall face— / Murther in heaven?1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- It was pointed out in chapter 3 that [C. S.] Lewis liked to regard Jupiter as his personal presiding deity, but Mercury would have been almost as apt a choice, for Lewis had been extraordinarily favoured by that Intelligence whom, in ‘The Planets,’ he calls the ‘Lord of language’: both as a speaker...2008, Michael Ward, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis, Oxford University Press, →ISBN
Noun capitalized: Jovial
Jovial (plural Jovials)
- An inhabitant of the planet Jupiter; a Jovian.
jovial meaning in Tamil, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali
jovial in Tamil
- cheerful and good-humoured — see also jolly, merry
- சௌல் caul
jovial in Marathi
- cheerful and good-humoured — see also jolly, merry
- आनंदी ānandī
jovial in Urdu
- ہنس مکھ, خندہ پیشانی والا, خوش مزاج, مسرور
jovial in Bengali
- হাসিখুশি, আমুদে, আনন্দপূর্ণ, হাশিখুশিভাবে, আনন্দপূর্ণ আচরণ
More languagesFewer languages
- jovial in Malayalam
- ഉല്ലാസവാനായ, രസികനായ, സന്തോഷമുള്ള
- jovial in Kannada
- ಗೆಲುವಿನ, ಚಲ್ಲಾಡುವ
- jovial in Sanskrit
- रंसु raṃsu
- jovial in Assamese
- হাঁহিৰাম hãhiram, ৰাংঢালী raṅdhali, ৰঙিয়াল roṅial
- jovial in Tagalog
- hobyal, masayahin
Examples of jovial in a sentence
- [I]n polite ſocieties, he is the eaſy, well-bred man of faſhion; and, in the more convivial parties, he is the jovial companion.1790 August, “Art V. The Devil upon Two Sticks in England: Being a Continuation of Le Diable Boiteux of Le Sage. 12mo. 4 Vols. about 230...
- At length, my friends, the feaſt of life is o’er; / I’ve eat ſufficient, I can drink no more: / My nigh is come; I’ve ſpent a jovial day; ’Tis time to part; but, oh!—what is to pay?1797, Richard Graves, “On the Death of an Epicure”, in Select Epigrams. In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Printed by and for Sampson Low...
- No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells.1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Five. The End of It.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages...
- A long, jovial, inane laugh broke the sudden silence which had fallen over everyone.1905 January 12, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “Lord Grenville’s Ball”, in The Scarlet Pimpernel, popular edition, London: Greening &...
Synonyms of jovial
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
- saturnine
- atrabiliary
- atrabilious
- blitheless
- dispirited
- blue
- bummed out
- chapfallen
- cheerless
- chopfallen
10 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of jovial
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more jovial |
| superlative | most jovial |
| alternative form | joviall |
| Noun | |
| plural | Jovials |
Origin of jovial
First attested in 1590; borrowed from Middle French jovial (“under the influence of Jupiter; of Jove; jovial, jolly”), from Italian gioviale (“(now obsolete) born under the influence of the planet Jupiter”) (attested in Dante, Paradiso, canto XVIII, early 14th century), from Late Latin Ioviālis (“relating to the Roman god Jupiter”), from Iuppiter, Iovis (“the Roman god Jove or Jupiter, counterpart of the Greek god Zeus”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“to be bright; heaven, sky”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship); analysable as Jove + -ial. Sense 1 (“cheerful and good-humoured”) refers to the fact that individuals born under the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter were believed to have that disposition.
See jovial.
Words formed from jovial
Questions about jovial
- What does jovial mean?
- Jovial means cheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry.
- What is jovial in Tamil?
- Jovial in Tamil is சௌல் (caul). See Jovial meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use jovial in a sentence?
- [I]n polite ſocieties, he is the eaſy, well-bred man of faſhion; and, in the more convivial parties, he is the jovial companion.
- What part of speech is jovial?
- Jovial can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce jovial?
- Jovial is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒəʊ.vɪ.əl/ (UK).
Words near jovial in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: jovial (page history and authors); Jovial (page history and authors); jovial (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); jovial (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); jovial (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); jovial (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-jovial.ogg, En-au-jovial.ogg.
Cite this entry: “jovial.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/jovial. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.