unlaughingadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈlɑːfɪŋ/, /(ˌ)ʌnˈlafɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌənˈlæfɪŋ/ Not laughing; not given to laughter; characterized by a lack of laughter; stern, solemn.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > melancholy > seriousness or solemnity > [adjective]
seinec1330
sober1362
unfeastlyc1386
murec1390
unlaughter-milda1400
sadc1400
solemnyc1420
solemned1423
serious1440
solemnc1449
solenc1460
solemnel?1473
moy1487
demure1523
grave1549
staid1557
sage1564
sullen1583
weighty1602
solid1632
censoriousa1637
(as) grave (also solemn, etc.) as a judge1650
untriumphant1659
setc1660
agelastic1666
austere1667
humourless1671
unlaughing1737
smileless1740
untriflinga1743
untittering1749
steady1759
dun1797
antithalian1818
dreich1819
laughterless1825
unsmiling1826
laughless1827
unfestive1844
sober-sided1847
gleeless1850
unfarcical1850
mome1855
deedy1895
button-down1959
buttoned-down1960
straight-faced1975
1737 A. Hill Tears of Muses 38 Wear Wit, plain, among th' unlaughing Wise.
1828 Gentleman's Mag. July 63/2 That unlaughing laughter-exciting genius Liston, as Paul Pry.
1898 Denver Evening Post 17 Nov. 4/5 A man..with..the kind of deep, unlaughing eye which commands a respectful greeting from the most presumptuous.
1970 A. M. Greeley New Horizons for Priesthood vi. 78 Most solemn, serious unlaughing men are haters if they have worked up enough energy to commit themselves to anything.
2009 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 122 156 An unlaughing response to a joke conveys the sentiment that the joke should not have happened at all.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1737