fun

(fŭn)
n.

1. A source of enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure.
2. Enjoyment; amusement: have fun at the beach.
3. Playful, often noisy, activity.

intr.v. Informal, funned, fun·ning, funs.
To behave playfully; joke.

adj. Informal
Enjoyable; amusing: "You're a real fun guy" (Margaret Truman).

idiom:

for (or in) fun

1. As a joke; playfully.

[Possibly from fon, to make a fool of, from Middle English fonnen, to fool, possibly from fonne, fool.]

USAGE NOTE   The use of fun as an attributive adjective, as in a fun time, a fun place, probably originated in a playful reanalysis of the use of the word in sentences such as It is fun to ski, where fun has the syntactic function of adjectives such as amusing or enjoyable. The usage became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, though there is some evidence to suggest that it has 19th-century antecedents, but it can still raise eyebrows among traditionalists. The day may come when this usage is entirely unremarkable, but writers may want to avoid it in more formal contexts.

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first recorded in 1700 and stigmatized by Dr Johnson as a 'low cant word' (i.e. ephemeral jargon), has long hovered on the brink of adjectival status (It was really fun) and more recently has taken a step further in informal attributive uses such as We had a fun time or That would be a fun thing to do. It still has a way to go, however, since it cannot yet be qualified by intensifying adverbs such as very or extremely (use of great instead gives away the noun's disguise). It also lacks the comparative and superlative inflections that a single-syllable adjective normally has, although more fun as in This sounds more fun is legitimate; funner and funnest have appeared in youth slang in American English and are now found in British English too, albeit usually in a jocular form:

She is also looking forward to the camaraderie of her country's locker room. 'Teams,' she said, 'are so much funner.'—Guardian, 2004.

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noun

1. Joyful, exuberant activity: conviviality, festival, festiveness, festivity, gaiety, jollity, merriment, merrymaking, revel (often used in plural), revelry. See laughter.
2. Activity engaged in for relaxation and amusement: disport, diversion, play, recreation, sport. See work/play.
3. Actions taken as a joke: game, play, sport. See work/play.

verb

To make jokes; behave playfully: jest, joke. Informal clown (around), fool around. See laughter.

Idioms beginning with fun:
fun and games
funny
funny business
funny money

In addition to the idiom beginning with fun, also see for fun; like fun; make fun of; more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Also see under funny.

adj

Definition: good, happy
Antonyms: bad, boring, sad, unfun, unhappy, woeful

n

Definition: amusement, play
Antonyms: misery, sadness, work

IN BRIEF: Someone or something that provides amusement or enjoyment.

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. — Dale Carnegie, (1888-1955), American writer, author of How to Make Friends and Influence People.

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sign description: Both hands have a U-handshape. One starts at the nose then comes down upon and rests upon the other.

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Quotes:

"Every time I hear that word, I cringe. Fun! I think it's disgusting; it's just running around. It's not my idea of pleasure." - Vivienne Westwood

"Fun is a good thing but only when it spoils nothing better." - George Santayana

"You got to like your work. You have got to like what you are doing, you have got to be doing something worthwhile so you can like it -- because it is worthwhile, that it makes a difference, don't you see?" - Col. Harland Sanders

"If you do not feel yourself growing in your work and your life broadening and deepening, if your task is not a perpetual tonic to you, you have not found your place." - Orison Swett Marden

"People must not do things for fun. We are not here for fun. There is no reference to fun in any act of Parliament." - A. P. Herbert

"If you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work." - Kahlil Gibran

See more famous quotes about Fun

See words rhyming with "fun."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Fun.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - sjov, morskab, fornøjelse, fest
adj. - sjov, morsom
v. intr. - lave sjov

idioms:

• for fun    for sjov
• for the fun of it    for morskabs skyld
• fun and games    løjer og langkål, små julelege
• in fun    i spøg
• make fun of    gøre grin med

Nederlands (Dutch)
pret, lol, spot, drukte, leuk, grapjes maken

Français (French)
n. - plaisir, amusement, taquinerie, plaisanterie
adj. - marrant, rigolo, amusant
v. intr. - s'amuser, se divertir

idioms:

• for fun    pour rire, pour plaisanter
• for the fun of it    histoire de rire, pour le plaisir
• fun and games    (s'amuser) comme des petits fous
• in fun    (s'amuser) avec tout le monde, par plaisanterie, pour se distraire
• make fun of    se moquer de, ridiculiser qn/qch

Deutsch (German)
n. - Spaß
adj. - freudig
v. - (ugs.) spaßen, scherzen

idioms:

• for fun    zum Spaß
• for the fun of it    zum Spaß
• fun and games    Vergnügungen
• in fun    im Spaß
• make fun of    sich über jmdn. lustig machen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - διασκέδαση, κέφι, ξεφάντωμα, χωρατό, αστεϊσμός (κν. πλάκα, καλαμπούρι)

idioms:

• for fun    στα αστεία, για πλάκα
• for the fun of it    για την πλάκα της υπόθεσης
• fun and games    (καθομ.) παιδιαρίσματα, άσκοπο χάσιμο χρόνου
• in fun    στα αστεία, για πλάκα
• make fun of    κοροϊδεύω, περιπαίζω, γελοιοποιώ

Italiano (Italian)
baldoria, allegria

idioms:

• for fun    per scherzo
• for the fun of it    per gioco
• fun and games    spassi
• in fun    per scherzo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - diversão (f), troça (f)

idioms:

• for fun    por prazer
• for the fun of it    por prazer
• fun and games    chacotas (f pl)
• in fun    por brincadeira
• make fun of    fazer chacota de

Русский (Russian)
забава

idioms:

• for fun    ради удовольствия
• for the fun of it    ради удовольствия
• fun and games    потеха
• in fun    в шутку
• make fun of    высмеивать

Español (Spanish)
n. - diversión, gusto, placer, broma, guasa
adj. - divertido, entretenido, placentero
v. intr. - chancear, bromear

idioms:

• for fun    en broma, por gusto
• for the fun of it    por pura diversión
• fun and games    pasárselo en grande
• in fun    en broma, por gusto
• make fun of    burlarse de, reírse de

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skoj

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
乐趣, 娱乐, 玩笑, 供娱乐用的, 开玩笑

idioms:

• for fun    开玩笑地
• for the fun of it    闹着玩的, 开玩笑的
• fun and games    欢乐, 嬉闹, 欢闹的聚会, 轻而易举的小事
• in fun    闹着玩儿地, 开玩笑的
• make fun of    取笑

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 樂趣, 娛樂, 玩笑
adj. - 供娛樂用的
v. intr. - 開玩笑

idioms:

• for fun    開玩笑地
• for the fun of it    鬧著玩的, 開玩笑的
• fun and games    歡樂, 嬉鬧, 歡鬧的聚會, 輕而易舉的小事
• in fun    鬧著玩兒地, 開玩笑的
• make fun of    取笑

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 즐거움, 짓궂은 장난, 재미있는 사람
adj. - 즐거운, 유쾌한, 엉뚱한, 현란한
v. intr. - 장난하다, 농담하다

idioms:

• in fun    농담으로, 재미 삼아
• make fun of    ~을 놀림감으로 만들다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - おかしみ, 戯れ, 楽しみ
adj. - 愉快な, おもしろい
v. - ふざける

idioms:

• for fun    おもしろ半分に
• for the fun of it    それがおもしろくて
• fun and games    陽気な騒ぎ, ごく簡単なこと, お祭り騒ぎ
• in fun    冗談に, 面白半分に
• make fun of    からかう

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) هزل , لهو‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צחוק, תענוג, כיף, בידור, שעשוע‬
adj. - ‮משעשע, מבדר‬
v. intr. - ‮התלוצץ, היתל ב-‬

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