🇺🇸
male🇺🇸
female🇬🇧
male🇬🇧
femalePlural
agelasts
An agelast is a rare, literary word for someone who never laughs—not out of sadness alone, but as a defining, almost philosophical trait; think of a stern philosopher, a grief-stricken ascetic, or a character so grimly serious they seem constitutionally incapable of mirth.
The ancient sage was described as an agelast, his face frozen in perpetual solemnity.
Though surrounded by jesters, the king remained an agelast, unmoved by even the most absurd antics.
Her agelast demeanor made the funeral feel even more somber, as if laughter itself had been banished from the room.
Literary critics note that Melville's Captain Ahab exhibits traits of an agelast—his obsession erases all capacity for levity.
He wasn't merely serious; he was an agelast, a man for whom humor seemed linguistically and emotionally inaccessible.
gel-
Comes from the Ancient Greek verb 'gelaō' (γελάω), meaning 'to laugh'. This root conveys the core concept of laughter, mirth, or smiling. Examples include gelastic (relating to laughter), gelotology (the study of laughter), and agelast (a person who never laughs).
a-
Comes from the Ancient Greek prefix 'a-' (alpha privative), meaning 'not' or 'without'. It negates the meaning of the root it attaches to. Examples include atypical, amoral, apolitical, and agelast (literally 'without laughter').