droll
Americanadjective
noun
verb (used without object)
adjective
Related Words
See amusing.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of droll
First recorded in 1615–25; from Middle French drolle “pleasant rascal,” perhaps from Middle Dutch drol “elf, goblin, fat little man,” ultimately from Old Norse; cf. troll 2 ( def. )
Explanation
Need a mental picture for the word droll? Think of one of those cute-homely troll dolls — blend those two words together — "doll" and "troll" — and you get droll, a description of a figure that is adorably strange and whimsically cute. The word droll comes from the archaic French word drolle, referring to a jolly good fellow. The French word comes perhaps from the Middle Dutch drolle, or "imp." The word came into English as both noun ("funny person, buffoon") and adjective ("funny, quaint, strange") in the 17th century.
Vocabulary lists containing droll
The Awakening
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Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
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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.
An obvious model for the film is “Babe,” but minus the droll wit, the inspired lunacy and the filigreed plot.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
A droll moment of introspection is offered when Gordon disfigures his face with tape.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
Buzz has it that this British comedy is as strange, lovely, droll and surprising as last year’s Sundance premiere “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” a movie I’ve been raving about ever since.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026
James Delbourgo’s “A Noble Madness” is a brilliant, droll study in the shifting profile and consistent obsession of the stop-at-nothing, buy-or-die collector.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
You would hardly guess it, but Mr. Wheeler is no little Flutist, and played us all Tunes while we rallied him on the droll Faces he makes when he blows.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
