jolly
Americanadjective
-
in good spirits; lively; merry.
In a moment he was as jolly as ever.
- Antonyms:
- melancholy, gloomy
-
cheerfully festive or convivial.
a jolly party.
- Antonyms:
- melancholy, gloomy
-
joyous; happy.
Christmas is a jolly season.
- Antonyms:
- melancholy, gloomy
-
Chiefly British Informal. delightful; charming.
-
British.
-
Informal. great; thorough.
a jolly blunderer.
-
Slang. slightly drunk; tipsy.
-
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
Informal. the practice or an instance of jollying a person.
-
Informal. Usually jollies. pleasurable excitement, especially from or as if from something forbidden or improper; thrills; kicks.
He gets his jollies from watching horror movies.
adverb
adjective
-
full of good humour; jovial
-
having or provoking gaiety and merrymaking; festive
-
greatly enjoyable; pleasing
adverb
verb
-
to try to make or keep (someone) cheerful
-
to make goodnatured fun of
noun
-
informal a festivity or celebration
-
informal a trip, esp one made for pleasure by a public official or committee at public expense
-
slang a Royal Marine
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
jollysimple
-
jolliessimple
-
have jolliedperfect
-
has jolliedperfect
-
am jollyingprogressive
-
are jollyingprogressive
-
is jollyingprogressive
-
have been jollyingperfect progressive
-
has been jollyingperfect progressive
Past
-
jolliedsimple
-
had jolliedperfect
-
was jollyingprogressive
-
were jollyingprogressive
-
had been jollyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jolly
1275–1325; Middle English joli, jolif < Old French, equivalent to jol- (probably < Old Norse jōl Yule ( def. ) ) + -if -ive
Explanation
Someone who's jolly is extremely cheerful. Your jolly French teacher might spend a large part of each class laughing out loud at his own jokes — if only you understood French, you could laugh along with him. Santa Claus might be the mythical figure best known for being jolly — he's especially famous for his jolly "Ho ho ho!" Anyone who tends to be merry or festive is jolly, and when you want to cheer up a less-than-jolly friend, you can jolly them, teasing or kidding until they smile. The Old French root is jolif, "festive, merry, or pretty."
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.
And maybe Van Dyke is a little like Santa: white hair, rosy cheeks, jolly and wholesome.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2026
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, at 52.9, was a touch below expectations of 53.4, but Wall Street was still in a jolly mood following yesterday’s cooler-than-expected consumer price index.
From Barron's • Dec. 20, 2025
Ms. Wiles seems, in the piece, to have been allowed, perhaps even encouraged, to view her interlocutor as her friend, her jolly confidante.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
Thankfully, a rewrite and the addition of some tubular bells made it much more jolly.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2025
Fritz was a name Marly always thought of as plump and jolly.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
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.
