jovial
/ˈdʒəʊvɪəl
/adjective
Cheerful and friendly: she was in a jovial mood...
- His jovial manner and friendly approach sets him aside from all others that ever worked in town.
- The atmosphere was electric and both sets of fans were jovial and friendly for much of the game.
- If they were nervous, it was pretty tough to tell, they had such a friendly, jovial way about them.
Synonyms
cheerful, jolly, happy, cheery, good-humoured, convivial, genial, good-natured, friendly, amiable, affable, sociable, outgoing, clubbable;
smiling, grinning, laughing, mirthful, merry, sunny, bright, joyful, high-spirited, exuberant, ebullient, lively, vivacious, full of life, sprightly, jaunty, breezy;
happy-go-lucky, carefree, unworried, untroubled, without a care in the world, full of the joys of spring, fun-loving, buoyant, optimistic, positive
informal chipper, chirpy, perky, smiley, upbeat, peppy, sparky, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, full of beans, full of vim and vigour
North American informal peart
dated gay
literary gladsome, jocund, joyous, jocose, blithe, blithesome
archaic of good cheer, perk, as merry/lively as a grig
rare Pickwickian
Derivatives
joviality
/ noun ...- It has more style and joviality than the English.
- ‘Sorry to have a meeting on a Monday morning,’ he laughed in an attempt at joviality.
- He was trying very hard to cover up his nervousness with joviality and humor.
jovially
/ adverb ...- ‘I didn't realise how serious it was,’ he jovially explained.
- The father laughs and jovially ruffles his son's hair.
- ‘That's good,’ he said jovially in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Origin
Late 16th century: from French, from late Latin jovialis 'of Jupiter' (see Jove), with reference to the supposed influence of the planet Jupiter on those born under it.
When we describe a cheerful person as jovial, we are looking back to the Latin word jovialis ‘of Jupiter’. This refers to the supposed influence of the planet Jupiter on those born under it. Jove is a poetical equivalent of Jupiter, the name of the most important god of the ancient Romans. See also saturnine