to giggle uncontrollably
1
4.0
- phrasal verb
- /ˈɡɪɡəl ˌʌn.kənˈtroʊl.ə.bli/
- I suppose I worked up a good sweat with all the spastic movements, but mainly I focused on not making a scene while I giggled uncontrollably at how awful I was.
Examples
-
The joke was so funny that they started to giggle uncontrollably.
-
Judith is giggling uncontrollably.
Fiction book (1998) -
She started giggling uncontrollably, which of course made me giggle too.
Blog text (15) -
Giggle uncontrollably when the hostess yells at you for the third time.
Blog text (12) -
Mismatching clothes, giggling uncontrollably, yelling at Penskes, and takin' names since 1985.
Blog text (4) -
When she saw the clown, she couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably.
-
After hearing the silly story, the kids began to giggle uncontrollably.
Synonyms
147
1.0
Laugh in a silly or nervous way with short high sounds
67
3.5
To laugh loudly and without control
13
3.4
Laugh loudly and without control
8
2.4
To suddenly start laughing loudly and not be able to stop
6
6.5
To laugh suddenly and loudly without control
1
9.7
To laugh very hard at something funny online
1
8.6
To laugh loudly in a silly, noisy way
1
5.2
Laugh loudly and deeply, making your stomach move
1
3.0
Start laughing very hard and cannot stop
1
4.5
Laugh so hard that your body shakes
1
6.5
To laugh so hard you almost choke
To make loud sounds you cannot stop because something is very funny
Feel so amused that you fall over and move on the floor
To laugh loudly and without control
To laugh very hard
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'giggle' (to laugh with short high sounds) with 'uncontrollably' (in an unmanageable way); a learner who knows both words can infer 'to laugh in a silly, uncontrolled way'. This verb + adverb composition follows standard English patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so it should be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Giggle uncontrollably paints the picture of a small, high laugh, giggle, that grows and takes over so you cannot stop it, uncontrollably. That's why it means 'to laugh in a silly and uncontrolled way'.