jolly

[ jol-ee ]

/ ˈdʒɒl i /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR jolly ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, jol·li·er, jol·li·est.

in good spirits; lively; merry: In a moment he was as jolly as ever.

cheerfully festive or convivial: a jolly party.

joyous; happy: Christmas is a jolly season.

Chiefly British Informal. delightful; charming.

British.

Informal. great; thorough: a jolly blunderer.
Slang. slightly drunk; tipsy.

verb (used with object), jol·lied, jol·ly·ing.

Informal. to talk or act agreeably to (a person) in order to keep that person in good humor, especially in the hope of gaining something (usually followed by along): They jollied him along until the job was done.

verb (used without object), jol·lied, jol·ly·ing.

Informal. to jolly a person; josh; kid.

noun, plural jol·lies.

Informal. the practice or an instance of jollying a person.

Usually jollies. Informal. pleasurable excitement, especially from or as if from something forbidden or improper; thrills; kicks: He gets his jollies from watching horror movies.

adverb

British Informal. extremely; very: He'll jolly well do as he's told.

Origin of jolly

1275–1325; Middle English joli, jolif < Old French, equivalent to jol- (probably < Old Norse jōl yule) + -if -ive

SYNONYMS FOR jolly

1–3 glad, spirited, jovial, sportive, playful.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR jolly ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR jolly

1–3 gloomy, melancholy.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR jolly ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM jolly

jol·li·ly, adverb jol·li·ness, noun un·jol·ly, adjective

Words nearby jolly

jollification, jollify, jollities, jollity, jollop, jolly, jolly balance, jolly boat, jolly jumper, jolly roger, jolo

Example sentences from the Web for jolliness

I always thought as adventures was jolly; but that didn't seem to me to have no jolliness about it, not when we was out there.

Sturdy and Strong |G. A. Henty
Since last night I've been with these infantry boy-officers who are doing such great work in such a careless spirit of jolliness.

Carry On |Coningsby Dawson
These new feelings did not affect his general attitude toward life: they merely confirmed his faith in its ultimate "jolliness."

The Glimpses of the Moon |Edith Wharton
A holiday's when you all have play and treats and jolliness, all of you together.

The Story of the Amulet |E. Nesbit

The jolliness of the little group communicated itself to the rest of the promenade deck.

Atlantis |Gerhart Hauptmann

British Dictionary definitions for jolliness

jolly

/ (ˈdʒɒlɪ) /

adjective -lier or -liest

full of good humour; jovial

having or provoking gaiety and merrymaking; festive

greatly enjoyable; pleasing

adverb

British (intensifier) you're jolly nice

verb -lies, -lying or -lied (tr) informal

(often foll by up or along) to try to make or keep (someone) cheerful

to make goodnatured fun of

noun

informal, mainly British a festivity or celebration

informal, mainly British a trip, esp one made for pleasure by a public official or committee at public expense

British slang a Royal Marine

Derived forms of jolly

jolliness, noun

Word Origin for jolly

C14: from Old French jolif, probably from Old Norse jōl yule

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

jolly

adjective, jol·li·er, jol·li·est.

verb (used with object), jol·lied, jol·ly·ing.

verb (used without object), jol·lied, jol·ly·ing.

noun, plural jol·lies.

adverb

Origin of jolly

SYNONYMS FOR jolly

ANTONYMS FOR jolly

OTHER WORDS FROM jolly

Words nearby jolly

Example sentences from the Web for jolliness

British Dictionary definitions for jolliness

adjective -lier or -liest

adverb

verb -lies, -lying or -lied (tr) informal

noun

Derived forms of jolly

Word Origin for jolly

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

jolly

adjective, jol·li·er, jol·li·est.

verb (used with object), jol·lied, jol·ly·ing.

verb (used without object), jol·lied, jol·ly·ing.

noun, plural jol·lies.

adverb

Origin of jolly

SYNONYMS FOR jolly

ANTONYMS FOR jolly

OTHER WORDS FROM jolly

Words nearby jolly

Words related to jolliness

Example sentences from the Web for jolliness

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for jolliness

adjective -lier or -liest

adverb

verb -lies, -lying or -lied (tr) informal

noun

Derived forms of jolly

Word Origin for jolly

British Dictionary definitions for jolliness