jocular
/ˈd͡ʒɑkjəlɚ/adjective
jocular is spelled J-O-C-U-L-A-R: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, jocular means “Humorous, amusing or joking” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in jocular?
| Letters | 7: J-O-C-U-L-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is jocular?
Jocular appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce jocular?
- UK /ˈd͡ʒɒkjʊlə/
- US /ˈd͡ʒɑkjəlɚ/
Jocular has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-jocular.ogg, En-au-jocular.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with jocular?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as jocular from its last stressed vowel (/ɑkjələɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of jocular
- more jocular comparative
- most jocular superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does jocular mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Humorous, amusing or joking.
He was in a jocular mood all day.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Jocular in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense humorous, amusing, joking:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | facétieux, amusant, humoristique |
| German | scherzhaft, spaßig, witzig |
| Portuguese | jocoso |
| Spanish | humorístico, jocoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does jocular come from?
From Latin iocularis, from ioculus (“a little jest”), diminutive of iocus (“a jest”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).