Describing Laughter: A Comprehensive Guide to Adjectives
The most useful adjectives for a laugh are loud, quiet, hearty, warm, nervous, forced, bitter, infectious and hysterical, and each tells the reader something different: how loud the laugh is, what it sounds like, or what feeling is behind it. Below they are grouped that way with example sentences, alongside the verbs that name a kind of laugh (giggle, chuckle, snort), the grammar trap that catches most writers (a laugh but not a laughter), and a short practice set.
Quick picker
- Happy and genuine: hearty, warm, delighted, joyful, infectious, full-throated
- Loud: loud, booming, raucous, roaring, uproarious, boisterous
- Quiet: soft, low, quiet, muffled, stifled, breathy
- High and light: tinkling, silvery, girlish, bubbly, airy
- Uncomfortable: nervous, awkward, embarrassed, forced, hollow, strained
- Unkind: mocking, scornful, derisive, sneering, cruel, sarcastic
- Dark or strange: bitter, humourless, harsh, manic, maniacal, wild
- Out of control: hysterical, helpless, uncontrollable, breathless
Laugh or laughter?
This is where most old lists go wrong. A laugh is countable: one person’s laugh, or one burst of it. Laughter is uncountable: the sound in general, often from several people. So:
- Correct: She gave a nervous laugh. / Nervous laughter spread through the room.
- Wrong: She gave a nervous laughter. / A loud laughter echoed.
- Correct: a burst of laughter, a roar of laughter, a ripple of laughter, peals of laughter
Most adjectives below work with both: a hearty laugh, hearty laughter.
Adjectives for how loud a laugh is
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| loud | plain, neutral | His loud laugh made people turn round in the café. |
| booming | deep and very loud | Her uncle had a booming laugh you could hear from the garden. |
| raucous | loud and rough, often from a group | Raucous laughter came from the table of football fans. |
| uproarious | very loud, from an amused crowd | The punchline was met with uproarious laughter. |
| boisterous | noisy and high-spirited | The boisterous laughter of the wedding guests carried across the lake. |
| roaring | loud and long (“roar with laughter”) | The whole class was roaring with laughter. |
| quiet / soft | gentle, not loud | She gave a soft laugh and shook her head. |
| low | deep and quiet | He let out a low laugh that sounded almost like a growl. |
| muffled / stifled | held back or covered | Stifled laughter came from the back row during the speech. |
| faint | barely heard | Faint laughter drifted up from the beach. |
Adjectives for the sound and texture of a laugh
| Adjective | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hearty | loud, warm and full of enjoyment | He gave a hearty laugh and slapped the table. |
| deep / throaty | low, from the chest or throat | She had a throaty laugh that surprised people. |
| full-throated | loud and unrestrained | For once he gave a full-throated laugh. |
| husky / raspy | rough, slightly hoarse | Her husky laugh came from years of singing in smoky clubs. |
| tinkling / silvery | high, light and pretty | A tinkling laugh rang out from the next room. |
| bubbly | light, bursting, cheerful | The toddler’s bubbly laugh set everyone off. |
| breathy / wheezy | with a lot of breath / with a whistling sound | Grandpa’s wheezy laugh ended in a cough. |
| shrill / high-pitched | high and piercing | A shrill laugh cut through the quiet office. |
| cackling | harsh and high, like a hen or a witch | The villain’s cackling laugh echoed down the corridor. |
| snorting | with a snort through the nose | She tried not to laugh and produced a snorting giggle. |
For more sound words, see adjectives for a voice and adjectives for sounds.
Adjectives for the feeling behind a laugh
| Adjective | Feeling | Example |
|---|---|---|
| warm / affectionate | fondness | She gave an affectionate laugh at her son’s terrible joke. |
| delighted / joyful | real happiness | The children’s delighted laughter filled the garden. |
| infectious / contagious | makes others laugh too | Her infectious laugh had the whole bus giggling. |
| genuine | sincere, not polite | It was the first genuine laugh he’d heard from her in weeks. |
| nervous | anxiety | He answered the question with a nervous laugh. |
| awkward / embarrassed | discomfort | There was a short, awkward laugh, then silence. |
| forced / polite | not really amused | The staff gave the boss’s joke a forced laugh. |
| hollow / mirthless / humourless | empty of real amusement | “Lucky me,” he said with a hollow laugh. |
| bitter / rueful | resentment / regret | She gave a rueful laugh when she saw the bill. |
| mocking / derisive / scornful | contempt | Derisive laughter greeted his excuse. |
| sarcastic / sardonic | dry, mocking | “Oh, brilliant,” she said, with a sardonic laugh. |
| sly / knowing | shared secret or understanding | They exchanged a knowing laugh across the table. |
| maniacal / manic | wild, unhinged | A maniacal laugh came from the locked room. |
| hysterical / helpless / uncontrollable | cannot stop | By the end of the film we were in fits of helpless laughter. |
A laugh often travels with a smile; see adjectives for a smile for the matching words.
Verbs that name a kind of laugh
Often a precise verb is better than “laughed” plus an adjective: “she giggled” says more than “she laughed in a silly, high way”.
| Verb | What it sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| giggle | quick, high, often silly or nervous | The girls giggled behind their hands. |
| chuckle | quiet, low, amused | He chuckled as he read the letter. |
| chortle | loud and gleeful (a word Lewis Carroll made up) | “Got you!” he chortled. |
| snicker / snigger | half-hidden, often unkind (snigger is British) | Someone sniggered when he tripped. |
| titter | short, nervous, a little silly | The audience tittered at the double meaning. |
| guffaw | loud, sudden, coarse | He guffawed so hard he spilled his drink. |
| cackle | harsh and high | The old woman cackled at the news. |
| snort | through the nose | She snorted with laughter. |
| howl / roar | very loud and long | We howled with laughter at his impression. |
| crack up / be in stitches | informal: laugh uncontrollably | That video had me in stitches. |
Nouns and phrases for laughter
These phrases let you describe how laughter starts, spreads and stops, which adjectives alone cannot do.
- a burst / an outburst of laughter: sudden. “A burst of laughter came from the kitchen.”
- a ripple of laughter: spreading quietly through a group. “A ripple of laughter ran through the audience.”
- a roar / a gale / a howl of laughter: very loud, from many people. “The line drew a roar of laughter.”
- peals of laughter: loud, repeated, usually happy. “Peals of laughter rang out from the playground.”
- fits of laughter / in fits: uncontrollable. “We were in fits by the second act.”
- a fit of the giggles: giggling you cannot stop, often at a bad moment. “She got a fit of the giggles during the exam.”
- dissolve / collapse into laughter: stop being serious. “The argument dissolved into laughter.”
- burst out laughing / burst into laughter: start suddenly. “He read the text and burst out laughing.”
Laughs that suit different characters
| Character | Laugh words | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A jolly grandfather | booming, hearty, wheezy, rumbling | Grandad’s rumbling laugh shook his whole chest. |
| A shy teenager | nervous, quiet, embarrassed, stifled | She gave a quiet, embarrassed laugh and looked at her shoes. |
| A toddler | bubbly, gurgling, delighted, squealing | The baby’s gurgling laugh was the best sound in the house. |
| A villain | cold, cruel, cackling, mirthless, soft (menacing) | His soft laugh was more frightening than any shout. |
| A tired worker | dry, weary, rueful, humourless | She gave a weary laugh: “Another meeting? Of course.” |
| A group of friends | raucous, easy, helpless, shared | Easy laughter followed them all the way home. |
Describing a laugh in writing
A laugh is a quick way to show character. A man with a booming laugh and a woman with a dry, quiet one are already different people. Three tips:
- Use one adjective and one effect: “Her infectious laugh set off the whole table” beats “her loud, happy, joyful, infectious laugh”.
- Let the laugh contradict the words: “‘I’m fine,’ he said, with a hollow laugh.” The reader hears what the character won’t say.
- Try a comparison: “a laugh like a car that wouldn’t start”, “a laugh like breaking glass”. Keep it fresh and fitting.
Words that are easy to misuse
- Hysterical: can mean “very funny” in casual speech (“the film was hysterical”), but also “out of control with emotion”. Make sure context makes it clear.
- Sardonic vs sarcastic: sardonic is dry and grimly mocking, often about life in general; sarcastic is aimed at someone, saying the opposite of what is meant.
- Snigger/snicker: nearly always unkind or childish. Not a neutral word for a quiet laugh; use chuckle for that.
- Infectious vs contagious: both work for laughter. Infectious is more common.
- Laughable: means ridiculous, not funny in a good way: “a laughable excuse”.
Common mistakes
- “A laughter”: “a loud laughter echoed” → “a loud laugh echoed” or “loud laughter echoed”.
- “Gave a laughter”: “she gave a quiet laughter” → “she gave a quiet laugh”.
- “Laughed at” vs “laughed with”: laughing at someone mocks them; laughing with them shares the joke.
- Too many tags in dialogue: “‘Ha!’ he laughed” is fine now and then; but you cannot laugh a whole sentence. “‘That’s ridiculous,’ he laughed” works better as “‘That’s ridiculous.’ He laughed.”
Practice
- The joke fell flat, and there was only a ______ laugh from the front row. (polite / uproarious)
- Her ______ laugh made everyone else start laughing too. (infectious / hollow)
- Choose the verb for a quiet, amused laugh: (chuckle / guffaw)
- “After the accident, he gave a ______ laugh: ‘Typical.'” (bitter / bubbly)
- Correct the error: “A deafening laughter erupted from the crowd.”
- Correct the error: “She let out a quiet laughter.”
Answers: 1 polite. 2 infectious. 3 chuckle. 4 bitter. 5 “Deafening laughter erupted from the crowd” (or “a roar of laughter”). 6 “She let out a quiet laugh.”
Quick answers
What is a word for a happy laugh?
Hearty, joyful, delighted, warm and infectious. As verbs: chuckle, chortle, giggle.
What is a word for an evil laugh?
Maniacal, sinister, cackling, cruel or menacing. The verb cackle is the classic villain’s laugh.
What is a word for a quiet laugh?
Soft, low, muffled or stifled; as verbs, chuckle (amused) or titter (nervous). A quiet laugh through the nose is a snort or a snicker.
What is a word for a fake laugh?
Forced, polite, hollow, strained or mirthless.
Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.
