The first step we are going to take to know the meaning of the term hilarious is to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we have to emphasize that it is a word that derives from Latin, specifically, it comes from "hilarans, hilarantis" which, in turn, emanates from the verb "hilarare", which can be translated as "to cause laughter" or "gladden".
However, we cannot ignore either that this Latin term derives from Greek, exactly from the word "hilaros", which is synonymous with "joyful".
This term, in turn, came to Spanish as hilarious : that or that which causes grace or provokes laughter .
Hilarious, therefore, is an adjective that allows you to describe people, situations or objects that are funny or that give joy . For example: "The child's hilarious comment caused laughter" , "We had a long time with Juan's hilarious dance" , "It is a hilarious book, which aims for the reader to have fun for a while" .
Comic, funny, funny, happy, laughable or jocular are some of the words that work as synonyms for hilarious. On the contrary, its antonyms include terms such as serious, dull, boring or sad.
There are people who are hilarious by nature. These are individuals who, through charisma, gestures or creativity, always manage to make their interlocutors or those nearby laugh.
Film comedies , comedy shows and comic strips in newspapers and magazines, meanwhile, aim to be hilarious. The main objective of this type of works is to entertain the public.
In the same way, we have to highlight that there are television programs that are based on broadcasting home videos where hilarious situations are shown. Specifically, they can show everything from absurd falls without damage on the part of those who carry them out to funny reactions to a scare, for example, to the tender and contagious laughter of babies.
Specifically, we can emphasize that monologue programs are a perfect example of this type of show. And with the interventions of the stand-up comedians the audience manages not to stop laughing thanks, above all, to the fact that they tell hilarious stories with which everyone has been able to identify with at a given moment. In Spain, one of the most successful spaces of this type is called "The Comedy Club."
It is known as laughing gas or laughing gas , on the other hand, nitrous oxide or nitrogen oxide . It is a sweet-smelling gas that has a low level of toxicity, causing a dissociative and anesthetic effect in humans.
Laughing gas, in this way, is used in the field of medicine to achieve rapid and mild sedation of the patient, who feels drowsy or intoxicated but without losing consciousness. Sometimes, the gas causes a feeling of euphoria that generates fits of laughter; hence, its rating as hilarious.
Some subjects turn to laughing gas as a recreational drug , inhaling the gas with the help of balloons, bags or bottles. It is important to keep in mind that an overdose of the gas can cause cardiac arrest, while continued consumption over time produces addiction and damages the spinal cord.