2022-11-02
2020-10-13 151226-4 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด H – hysterical & hilarious
การใช้ภาษาอังกฤษ ที่ถือว่า ถูกต้อง ในที่นี้ เป็นไป ตามมาตรฐาน ของภาษา การใช้ภาษาอังกฤษ ไม่กำหนดมาตฐาน ถือตามส่วนใหญ่ที่ใช้แต่ละท้องถิ่น ความหมาย อาจยืดหยุ่น ขึ้นอยู่กับ ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง hysterical = “hi-STER-i-kuhl”
ออกเสียง hilarious “hi-LAIR-ee-uhs”
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary:
hysterical & hilarious
People say of a bit of humor
or a comical situation that it was “hysterical”
—shorthand for “hysterically funny”
—meaning “hilarious.”
But when you speak of a man being “hysterical”
it means he is having a fit of hysteria,
and that may not be funny at all.
Dictionary.com:
ABOUT THIS WORD
More context on hysterical
In everyday usage, hysterical
means “uncontrollably emotional.”
But guess who usually gets marked with that label? Women.
What’s more, hysterical
comes from the Greek word for “womb.”
It was once thought that hysteria was a condition
that only affected women
—and was caused by disturbances in the uterus.
Given the sexism associated with this word,
hysterical isn’t exactly a laughing matter.
If knowing the history of hysterical
has got you reflecting on your word choices,
this slideshow,
“These Common Words Have Offensive Histories,”
discusses many other words whose place in your vocab
you may want to reconsider.
Keep in mind …
Due to the history of hysterical,
you may want to consider some less sensitive synonyms,
such as frantic, frenzied, impassioned, or vehement.
Informally, hysterical is also often used
to refer to something “extremely funny.”
Here are some other synonyms you can try:
comedic
hilarious
silly
whimsical
Dictionary.com:
MORE ABOUT HILARIOUS
What does hilarious mean?
Hilarious means extremely funny,
like literally lol funny.
Hilarious is most commonly used
to describe someone or something (like a joke or a movie)
as super funny.
Much less commonly,
it used to mean very merry or cheerful,
as in a hilarious celebration.
Example:
The movie was absolutely hilarious
—I was laughing so hard at one point that I was crying.
Where does hilarious come from?
English got hilarious around 1820
—well, that’s at least when the first records of its use are from.
It comes from the Latin word hilar(is)
(meaning “glad” or “cheerful”),
which was derived from the Greek hilarós.
Hilarious is used to describe things
that are considered the pinnacle of funniness
—things that make us laugh out loud, and a lot.
Some jokes or memes might be amusing or a little funny,
but something that’s truly hilarious is on a different level.
Sometimes, people describe things
that are hilarious as hysterical,
which can mean “causing uncontrollable laughter.”
However, hysterical can also be used in a very negative way
to describe someone
as uncontrollably and irrationally emotional,
which isn’t funny at all
(especially, when used to demean women).
Less commonly,
hilarious is used to describe a situation
as being a really good time because it’s filled withmerriment.
This meaning of hilarious
is more akin to the related noun hilarity,
which means “merriment” or “cheerfulness.”
Hilarity is not synonymous with the noun hilariousness,
which typically means “funniness.”
Of course, hilariousness often leads to hilarity!
One last thing: hilarious is sometimes
used sarcastically to describe something
that was intended to be funny
but that the speaker sees as very unfunny,
as in Wow,
thanks for replacing my shoelaces with ramen noodles,
you jerks—real hilarious.
[Editor’s note: That is actually pretty hilarious.]
