adjective
Other Word Forms
- convivialist noun
- conviviality noun
- convivially adverb
- nonconvivial adjective
- nonconvivially adverb
Etymology
Origin of convivial
First recorded in 1660–70; from Late Latin convīviālis “festal,” equivalent to Latin convīvi(um) “feast” ( convīv(ere) “to live together, dine together” ( con- con- + vīvere “to live”) + -ium -ium ) + -ālis -al 1
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.
The atmosphere is convivial but tinged with tension.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
On Wednesday, the 12 visiting players took time during their practice round to sign hundreds of autographs and pose for selfies on a largely convivial morning at Bethpage.
From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025
As convivial dog-sledding teacher Iselin puts it to the students, she wants to “wake up your Stone Age brains.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2025
After a convivial afternoon, Lauren Harper Pope, co-founder of Welcome PAC, said the words everyone wanted to hear: “Now’s the really fun part,” she said.
From Slate • Jun. 9, 2025
He wanted to bang their heads together as they greeted him with loud convivial cries and invited him generously to pull up a chair and eat their chestnuts and roasted potatoes.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
