■ noun light-hearted pleasure or amusement.
↘a source of ~: people-watching is great ~.
↘playfulness or good humour: she's full of ~.
■ adjective informal entertaining or enjoyable.
■ verb ( ~s , ~ning , ~ned ) N. Amer. informal joke or tease.
Phrases
in ~ not intended seriously.
make ~ of tease or laugh at in a mocking or unkind way.
Origin
C17 (denoting a trick or hoax): from obs. ~ 'to cheat or hoax', dialect var. of ME fon 'make a fool of, be a fool', related to fon 'a fool', of unknown origin; cf. fond .