uproarious

up·roar·i·ous
U1P3R1O1A1R1I1O1U1S1
UK/ʌpˈɹɔː.ɹɪ.əs/US/ˌʌpˈɹɔ.ɹi.əs/

adjective

Causing, or likely to cause, an uproar.

UncommonScrabble 12

Meanings

adjectiveuproarious (comparative more uproarious, superlative most uproarious)

comparative more uproarious · superlative most uproarious

  1. Causing, or likely to cause, an uproar.

    “Oh! there's no fear of him,” said Burgess, cheerily; “if he grows uproarious, we'll soon give him a touch of the cat.”

    1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life, Penguin, published 2009, page 268
  2. Characterized by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter.

    The two bushes looked up in surprise, and when they saw Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion and Sir Hokus, they fell into each other's branches and burst into the most uproarious laughter.

    1921, L[yman] Frank Baum [actually Ruth Plumly Thompson], “Dorothy and Sir Hokus Come to Fix City”, in The Royal Book of Oz […], Chicago, Ill.: The Reilly & Lee Co., →OCLC, page 165
    3 more examples

    The noise in this room was perfectly tumultuous, […] every child was conducting itself like forty. The consequences were uproarious beyond belief; but no one seemed to care; on the contrary, the mother and daughter laughed heartily, and enjoyed it very much; and the latter, soon beginning to mingle in the sports, got pillaged by the young brigands most ruthlessly.

    1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 68–69

    One "set" off, another takes its place, he or she remaining longest on the floor receiving the most uproarious commendation, and so the dancing continues until broad daylight. It does not cease with the sound of the fiddle, but in that case they set up a music peculiar to themselves.

    1853, Solomon Northup, chapter XV, in [David Wilson], editor, Twelve Years a Slave. […], London: Sampson Low, Son & Co.; Auburn, N.Y.: Derby and Miller, →OCLC, page 219

    At the uproarious cheering which greeted his appearance, [Maximilien] Robespierre advanced into the open, whilst a sudden swift light of triumph darted from his narrow, pale eyes.

    1922 August, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “One Crowded Hour of Glorious Life”, in The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC, § 1, page 62

    Synonyms: uproarish, blaring, blasting, booming, cacophonous, clangorous, clamorous, clattering

  3. broadlyExtremely funny; hilarious.

    Yet as with Booksmart, the summer's earlier riff on that Apatovian classic, there are times when Good Boys feels a little too nice to actually be uproarious. In more ways than one, it's the training wheels for a better comedy—a slightly edgier and funnier one.

    2019 August 14, A. A. Dowd, “Good Boys Puts a Tween Spin on the R-rated Teen Comedy, to Mostly Funny Effect”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2021

    Synonyms: amusing, chucklesome, comedic, comic, comical, droll, filarious, frolicsome

  4. figurativelyIn a mess; dishevelled, untidy.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveCharacterized by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveuncontrollably noisy

adjectivemarked by or causing boisterous merriment or convulsive laughter

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From uproar + -ious (a variant of -ous (“suffix forming adjectives from nouns, to denote possession or presence of a quality in any degree, commonly in abundance”)).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek θορυβώδης
  • θορυβώδης (thorubṓdēs)characterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
Bulgarian шумен, гръмогласен
  • шумен (šumen)characterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
  • гръмогласен (grămoglasen)characterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
Chinese Mandarin 喧囂的
  • 喧囂的 (xuānxiāode)characterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
French tumultueux
  • tumultueuxcharacterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
Māori hoi
  • hoicharacterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
Spanish clamoroso, estruendoso
  • clamorosocharacterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
  • estruendosocharacterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
  • fragosocharacterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter
  • fragorosocharacterised by uproar, that is, loud, confused noise, or by noisy and uncontrollable laughter

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with uproarious

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

uproarious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/uproarious

MLA

“uproarious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/uproarious. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “uproarious,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/uproarious.

Source: uproarious on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.