merriment
Americannoun
-
cheerful or joyful gaiety; mirth; hilarity; laughter.
- Antonyms:
- melancholy, misery
-
Obsolete. a cause of mirth; a jest, entertainment, etc.
noun
Synonym Usage
See mirth.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of merriment
Explanation
Merriment can refer to fun activities or a feeling of happiness. Either way, a good time is being had. You know how merry means happy? Merriment refers to events and feelings that are happy. A party is a perfect example of merriment. If you hear a bunch of people laughing and joking, you might say, "Why all the merriment?" Merriment can also be an emotion: if you're very excited or happy, you're experiencing merriment.
Vocabulary lists containing merriment
Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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Words for the International Day of Happiness
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Chains
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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.
Issa is solidly built, close-shaved, stern in command but given to bouts of merriment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
But would his performance match Van Dyke’s soaring merriment and nimble footwork, those grace notes cementing the film’s status as an intergenerational classic?
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2025
A festival on a sandbar brought 90 minutes of merriment to hundreds of people in the Isles of Scilly.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2025
Ahead of the annual letters complaining that the Dodgers celebrate the winning of a mere division title with Champagne and much merriment, a reminder:
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2024
I thought of Shannon and how she’d talked to people at church, the friendly merriment of her, the way she laughed and smiled.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
