Meaning of agelast | Babel Free

Definitions

One who never laughs (especially at jokes); a mirthless person.

rare

Equivalents

Examples

“As a real agelast in a comedy, he is beaten. The beating of an agelast is the most important point of the comedy.”

“Declaring with Doumergue that "Rabelais and Calvin (and Olivétan) were the creators of French literary prose,"²⁵ Bakhtin adds "Even the agelast Calvin wrote a pamphlet about relics with a certain comic overtone."²⁶ The single, and unusual word "agelast" summarizes the popular view of John Calvin: a person who does not laugh or smile; someone who cannot enjoy life or the fact that others might be happy.”

“For Kundera, agelasts represent the opposite of the spirit of the novel; the novel is born from the sense of humor and not from theoretical thinking.”

“Agelasts have a very clear idea that they have patent regarding both the truth and the mission and are so bloody solemn that they just cannot accept other views.”

CEFR level