What does cachinnate mean?
To cachinnate is to laugh loudly, immoderately, or convulsively — the kind of unrestrained laughter that shakes the shoulders and draws glances across a quiet room. The verb comes from the Latin cachinnare, meaning to laugh aloud, and entered English in the seventeenth century alongside its noun form, cachinnation. It is a distinctly formal and literary word: rarely heard in casual conversation, it appears instead in essays, satire, and comic prose, often chosen precisely because its Latinate gravity contrasts amusingly with the undignified act it describes. Writers may use it for ironic effect, describing solemn characters caught in helpless mirth. For anyone who enjoys precise vocabulary, cachinnate fills a genuine gap, naming an intensity of laughter that ordinary verbs like giggle or chuckle cannot capture.
verbTo laugh loudly, immoderately, or convulsively.
- To laugh loudly, immoderately, or convulsively.
"The comedian's deadpan delivery sent the front row into fits of cachinnating."
"The entire lecture hall began to cachinnate when the professor tripped over the projector cable."
"Victorian critics accused the novel's heroine of cachinnating in a manner unbefitting a lady."
If you've ever laughed so hard you couldn't breathe, congratulations — you were cachinnating.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cachinnate
Cachinnate derives from the Latin verb cachinnare, meaning 'to laugh aloud or immoderately,' which itself likely originated as an imitation of loud laughter. English borrowed the word in the early seventeenth century, together with the related forms cachinnation and cachinnatory. Its root is purely Latin; it has no significant Greek cognates, though its onomatopoeic character links it conceptually to laughter words across many languages.
Related word forms
How cachinnate is actually used
Cachinnate is a formal, literary, and somewhat humorous word, used most often by writers reaching for a deliberately elevated alternative to 'laugh loudly.' It is rare in everyday speech and carries a slightly archaic or playful connotation rather than a neutral one.