What does jovial mean?
Word: Jovial
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Jovial means cheerful and friendly, full of fun and good humour.
Synonyms: cheerful, jolly, merry, good-humoured
Antonyms: gloomy, grumpy, sullen
How do you spell jovial?
Syllables: jo - vi - al
Tricky part: The ending is -ial, not -iel or -ual, and the o says its own name. Some children swap the last two letters and write jovail.
Watch out for: joviel, jovail, jovual
Memory tip: Jovial starts like jolly, j-o, and ends like social, -ial. A jovial person is jolly and social.
Jovial in a sentence
Example 1: Our jovial bus driver hums old Hindi songs on every trip.
Example 2: Even after losing the match, Uncle Sanjay was jovial and joked with everyone.
Example 3: The mood at the Lohri bonfire stayed jovial till midnight.
Fun Fact
Jovial comes from Jove, another name for Jupiter. Old star-gazers believed people born under the planet Jupiter were cheerful.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
vaijol
a) shy and very quiet
b) sharp and painful to touch
c) proud and fond of boasting
d) always ready to laugh and joke
Show answer
d) always ready to laugh and joke. The six letters sort into jovial, a word for someone in a happy, sociable mood.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ia' pronounced differently?
a) trivial
b) jovial
c) burial
d) special
Show answer
d) special. In special the c-i-a blends into one 'shul' sound; in the other three the i and the a are said as two sounds.
Spell Probe
Choose the meaning of the misspelt word in the given sentence:
Our jovial neighbour always brings sweets for the children when he returns from his vilage in Punjab.
a) to come back to a place
b) a person who lives next door or near you
c) a small group of houses in the countryside
d) small sweet foods made with sugar
Show answer
c) a small group of houses in the countryside. Village has a double l, so vilage is the misspelt word.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) gentle : gentley
b) jovial : jovially
c) happy : happily
d) cheerful : cheerfully
Show answer
a) gentle : gentley. Gentle drops its e and takes y: gently.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A jovial host is most likely to ____.
a) sit alone in a dark, quiet room
b) ask everyone to leave very early
c) greet guests with jokes and laughter
d) complain about the food all evening
Show answer
c) greet guests with jokes and laughter
2. Which greeting is the most jovial?
a) a quick nod without a word
b) a cold, silent handshake
c) a frown and a heavy sigh
d) a big smile and a warm hello
Show answer
d) a big smile and a warm hello
