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drollery

American  
[droh-luh-ree] / ˈdroʊ lə ri /

noun

  • drolleries
    plural
  1. something whimsically amusing or funny.

  2. an oddly amusing story or jest.

  3. a droll quality or manner; whimsical humor.

  4. the action or behavior of a droll, waggish person; jesting.

  5. a comic picture.

  6. Archaic. a puppet show.


drollery British  
/ ˈdrəʊlərɪ /

noun

  1. humour; comedy

  2. rare a droll act, story, or remark

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of drollery

1590–1600; droll + -ery; compare French drôlerie

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:

The drollery in “Seasons” is based on the eternal question about what can, and invariably will, go wrong next.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026

The result was an interview brimming with drollery and repartee, as they talked about the rumours of a Beatles reunion, the future of rock music, and life with the Wings.

From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2023

And Pierce, maximizing the situational drollery, treats the character as though he were kin to one of the Gilbert & Sullivan figures he performed with aplomb in his apprenticeship days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2023

It’s kind of jarring to learn that “Losing My Edge,” LCD’s breakout single, in which Murphy elaborates on the title condition, was born out of genuine desperation rather than ironic drollery.

From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022

"Mr. Boyesen's stories possess a sweetness, a tenderness, and a drollery that are fascinating, and yet they are no more attractive than they are strong."

From The English Novel And the Principle of its Development by Sidney Lanier

Mencken–esque drolleries that serve nobody but their own egos.

From Time ● Sep. 21, 2011

It is notable for its drolleries of language and image, occasional descents into outright corniness and flat-footed insistence on randomness, coincidence or uninflected information as the artist’s main compositional options.

From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2010

That they somehow manage to sustain the deadpan drolleries and laugh-out-loud situations is truly remarkable.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mr. Silvernail's drolleries help to relieve tension at terror stricken moments.

From Time Magazine Archive

Of all the drolleries of controversy none is more amusing than the manner in which those who provoke a combat expect to lay down the laws of retaliation.

From A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II by David Eugene Smith

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