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Webster 1913 Edition


Cheer

Cheer

(chēr)
,
Noun.
[OE.
chere
face, welcome, cheer, OF.
chiere
, F.
chère
, fr. LL.
cara
face, Gr.
κάρα
head; akin to Skr.
çiras
, L.
cerebrum
brain, G.
hirn
, and E.
cranium
.]
1.
The face; the countenance or its expression.
[Obs.]
“Sweat of thy cheer.”
Wyclif.
2.
Feeling; spirit; state of mind or heart.
Be of good
cheer
.
Matt. ix. 2.
The parents . . . fled away with heavy
cheer
.
Holland.
3.
Gayety; mirth; cheerfulness; animation.
I have not that alacrity of spirit,
Nor
cheer
of mind, that I was wont to have.
Shakespeare
1.
That which promotes good spirits or cheerfulness; provisions prepared for a feast; entertainment;
as, a table loaded with good
cheer
.
5.
A shout, hurrah, or acclamation, expressing joy enthusiasm, applause, favor, etc.
Welcome her, thundering
cheer
of the street.
Tennyson.
What cheer?
How do you fare? What is there that is cheering?

Cheer

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Cheered
(chērd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
cheering
.]
1.
To cause to rejoice; to gladden; to make cheerful; – often with up.
Cowpe.
2.
To infuse life, courage, animation, or hope, into; to inspirit; to solace or comfort.
The proud he tamed, the penitent he
cheered
.
Dryden.
3.
To salute or applaud with cheers; to urge on by cheers;
as, to
cheer
hounds in a chase
.
Syn. – To gladden; encourage; inspirit; comfort; console; enliven; refresh; exhilarate; animate; applaud.

Cheer

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To grow cheerful; to become gladsome or joyous; – usually with
up
.
At sight of thee my gloomy soul
cheers
up.
A. Philips.
2.
To be in any state or temper of mind.
[Obs.]
How
cheer’st
thou, Jessica?
Shakespeare
3.
To utter a shout or shouts of applause, triumph, etc.
And even the ranks of Tusculum
Could scare forbear to
cheer
.
Macaulay.

Webster 1828 Edition


Cheer

CHEER

, v.t.
1.
To salute with shouts of joy, or cheers.
2.
To dispel gloom, sorrow, silence or apathy; to cause to rejoice; to gladden; to make cheerful; as, to cheer a lonely desert; the cheering rays of the sun; good news cheers the heart.
3.
To infuse life; spirit, animation; to incite; to encourage; as, to cheer the hounds.

CHEER

,
Verb.
I.
To grow cheerful; to become gladsome, or joyous.
At sight of thee my gloomy soul cheers up.
Cheer up, my lads.

CHEER

, n.
1.
A shout of joy; as, they gave three cheers.
2.
A state of gladness or joy; a state of animation, above gloom and depression of spirits, but below mirth, gayety and jollity.
Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. Mat. 9.
Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. Acts. 27.
3.
Mirth; gayety; jollity; as at a feast.
4.
Invitation to gayety.
5.
Entertainment; that which makes cheerful; provisions for a feast.
The table was loaded with good cheer.
6.
Air of countenance, noting a greater or less degree of cheerfulness.
His words their drooping cheer Enlightened.

Definition 2024


cheer

cheer

See also: çheer

English

Noun

cheer (countable and uncountable, plural cheers)

  1. (obsolete) The face. [13th-16thc.]
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter viij, in Le Morte Darthur, book XIII:
      And soo on the morne they were alle accorded that they shold departe eueryche from other / And on the morne they departed with wepynge chere / and euery knyȝt took the way that hym lyked best
    • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, I.50:
      Heraclitus taking pitie and compassion of the very same condition of ours, was continually seene with a sad, mournfull, and heavie cheere [transl. visage], and with teares trickling downe his blubbered eyes.
  2. (obsolete) One's expression or countenance. [13th-19thc.]
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.7:
      ‘thorough evill rest of this last night, / Or ill apayd or much dismayd ye be; / That by your change of cheare is easie for to see.’
  3. (archaic) One's attitude, mood. [from 14thc.]
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark VI:
      And anon he talked with them, and sayde unto them: be of good chere, it is I, be not afrayed.
    • Holinshed
      The parents [] fled away with heavy cheer.
  4. (uncountable) A cheerful attitude; gaiety; mirth. [from 14thc.]
    • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
      I have not that alacrity of spirit, / Nor cheer of mind, that I was wont to have.
  5. That which promotes good spirits or cheerfulness; provisions prepared for a feast; entertainment.
    a table loaded with good cheer
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
      [] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
        Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. [].”
  6. A cry expressing joy, approval or support such as "hurray". [from 18thc.]
    A cheer rose from the crowd.
    • Tennyson (1809-1892)
      Welcome her, thundering cheer of the street.
  7. A chant made in support of a team at a sports event.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:applause

Translations

Verb

cheer (third-person singular simple present cheers, present participle cheering, simple past and past participle cheered)

  1. (transitive) To gladden; to make cheerful; often with up.
    We were cheered by the offer of a cup of tea.
  2. (transitive) To infuse life, courage, animation, or hope, into; to inspirit; to solace or comfort.
    • Dryden
      The proud he tamed, the penitent he cheered.
  3. (transitive, intransitive) To applaud or encourage with cheers or shouts.
    The crowd cheered in support of the athletes.
    The crowd cheered the athletes.

Derived terms

Antonyms

Translations