revel
verb (used without object)
to take great pleasure or delight (usually followed byin ).
revel
1 American
[rev-uhl]
/ ˈrɛv əl /
verb (used without object)
-
revels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reveled,
past participle, past
-
revelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
reveling,
present participle
-
revelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
revels
plural
-
boisterous merrymaking or festivity; revelry.
-
Often revels an occasion of merrymaking or noisy festivity with dancing, masking, etc.
Revel
2
American
[ray-vuhl, rye-vyil]
/ ˈreɪ vəl, ˈrjɛ vjɪl /
noun
revel
British
/ ˈrɛvəl /
verb
-
(foll by in) to take pleasure or wallow
to revel in success
-
to take part in noisy festivities; make merry
noun
-
(often plural) an occasion of noisy merrymaking
-
a less common word for revelry
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
revelsimple
-
revelssimple
-
have reveledperfect
-
have revelledperfect
-
has reveledperfect
-
has revelledperfect
-
am revelingprogressive
-
am revellingprogressive
-
are revelingprogressive
-
are revellingprogressive
-
is revelingprogressive
-
is revellingprogressive
-
have been revelingperfect progressive
-
have been revellingperfect progressive
-
has been revelingperfect progressive
-
has been revellingperfect progressive
Past
-
reveledsimple
-
revelledsimple
-
had reveledperfect
-
had revelledperfect
-
was revelingprogressive
-
was revellingprogressive
-
were revelingprogressive
-
were revellingprogressive
-
had been revelingperfect progressive
-
had been revellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of revel
First recorded in 1275–1325; (for the verb) Middle English revelen, from Old French reveler “to raise tumult, make merry,” from Latin rebellāre “to wage war again” ( rebel ); noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
Revel means to take great pleasure. If you revel in something, you're not just pleased or even excited; you're overwhelmed by joy. It used to mean riotous merry-making. Now it means to bask in the self-reflected glow of your own pleasure. You revel in your victory lap after winning the race. Your brother is constantly on your case for being clumsy, so when he knocks down a table filled with glassware, you revel in it. Think of it as a high level of pleasure.
Vocabulary lists containing revel
Romeo and Juliet
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Some speculated it might be a chemical spill, while others appeared to revel in the novelty of the scene.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Yudkowsky’s acolytes grew into the rationalist movement, a group of brainy, often libertarian-leaning outsiders who revel in logical debate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Once the final track has been played, “F.I.G” beckons us to replay, revel in our emotions and dance once, maybe twice or thrice, more.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
Thousands of people poured into the streets of Paris for the match and to revel in PSG's triumph in the final held in the Hungarian capital Budapest late Saturday.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
This revel is going to turn wilder, and with no new High Monarch on the throne, there is little holding any of the revelers back from any entertainment they can devise.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Another regular is Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, a family friend whose son Revel also plays music with Shane.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Dame Prue Leith, Craig Revel Horwood and Dame Mary Berry are among the celebrities to be announced in this year's line-up for the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Ending the day with some wordplay: Revel in the weirdness of the English language with Slate’s newest game, SoundBites!
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
“The audience knows if you’re authentic or not,” says Ryan Revel, a talent manager who represents “The Challenge” alum Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and former “Vanderpump Rules” stars Tom Sandoval, Kristen Doute and Jax Taylor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Being A remarkable and succinct Hiſtory of the Life of James Revel, the unhappy Sufferer. . . .
From A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 1 of 3) Forming a portion of the library of Robert Hoe by Various
For all his disparate pursuits, Elsesser revels in the small details, incapable of giving anything less than total dedication.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
One of my patients revels in being a peacemaker and resolving fights among her three teenage grandchildren, despite her own issues with anxiety and memory lapses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The second thing is he revels in doing the vision thing: setting out, with passion, the route he believes could lead to a better society and why he reckons he could lead us there.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
The film revels in languid establishing shots of the Santa Clara Valley, with the hilly Diablo Range in the background.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026
It had never occurred to him until then to think that literature was the best plaything that had ever been invented to make fun of people, as Alvaro demonstrated during one night of revels.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Across town in West Los Angeles, Pratt reveled in his second-place position, enjoying a Mexican dinner with friends and family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
On movie screens, Peter Sellers reveled in comic inventiveness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Kathryn Hahn reveled in the chance to unleash all her witchy acting powers in ‘Agatha All Along,’ a follow-up to Marvel’s ‘WandaVision.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
Bridgeman, a 26-year-old American chasing his first PGA Tour title, said the same, but he reveled in the challenge.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
He possessed them all and reveled in his possession.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Other publications have revelled in how Sturgeon has given interviews against a backdrop of stolen books in stolen bookcases, or offered cups of coffee to journalists from a coffee machine Murrell bought with stolen money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Fury revelled in the spotlight at Monday's news conference, delivering his trademark long and winding answers as he came face-to-face with Makhmudov at the north London venue.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
With Jude Bellingham out injured and Mbappe sitting on the bench, Vinicius seemed to have more freedom to roam and revelled in being the key attacking figure.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
And he revelled in his new role as would-be peacemaker-in-chief.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2026
The men revelled in the unexpected abundance, and hope and joy took the place of gloom and discontent.
From Stanley's Adventures in the Wilds of Africa A Graphic Account of the Several Expeditions of Henry M. Stanley into the Heart of the Dark Continent by Joel Tyler Headley
He traveled as a private citizen, rather than a politician, reveling in the region’s splendors, its ruins and estates, gardens and canals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
But the billionaire Republican is also reveling in the macho side of an event that will see bare-knuckle fighters battle it out in a mesh-framed cage known as the "Octagon."
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Two years later, the Quigleys are reveling in the Sunshine State’s education freedom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
South Park has spent decades reveling in its own poor taste, but the people who bankroll the show have their limits.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2025
They took turns flinging their heads back in defiance of gravity, letting the ends of their hair trail along the water’s surface, reveling in the feeling of weightlessness.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Marcus Willis is not one for revelling in nostalgia.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The briefings have been chest-thumping affairs, revelling in portrayals of American military supremacy.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
Italy's cricketers have been revelling in plenty of "pinch me" moments during their debut appearance at the T20 World Cup, and now they want more.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Jesus's first goal since January 1 left Arteta wreathed in smiles and Watkins' close-range strike in stoppage-time couldn't stop Arsenal revelling in their statement victory.
From Barron's ● Dec. 30, 2025
Melian had halted to take in the view, her eyes wide open and fairly revelling in it.
From The Heath Hover Mystery by Bertram Mitford
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
