jollity

noun

jol·​li·​ty ˈjä-lə-tē How to pronounce jollity (audio)
plural jollities
Synonyms of jollitynext
1
: the quality or state of being jolly : merriment
2
British : a festive gathering

Synonyms of jollity

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of jollity in a Sentence

I love all of the warmhearted jollity of the holiday season.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But even aside from that, Fallon, despite the Strike Force’s five-way jollity, seems like the group’s distractible odd man out. — Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2023 The free-living, hard-drinking Brett uses wit and jollity to mask her inner desperation. — Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2025 While the jollity may look a bit different from city to city, these global destinations keep the holiday cheer going year after year. — Caitlin Morton, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Nov. 2023 The finale is an ambiguous mix of jollity and agitation, with a piccolo shrieking above a militant march. — Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 6 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for jollity

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of jollity was in the 14th century

Rhymes for jollity

See All Rhymes for jollity

Browse Nearby Words

jolliness
jollity
jollof rice
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Jollity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jollity. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

jollity

noun
jol·​li·​ty ˈjäl-ət-ē How to pronounce jollity (audio)
plural jollities
: merrymaking sense 1, gaiety

More from Merriam-Webster on jollity

Nglish: Translation of jollity for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All