merriment

[mer-i‐, mer-ee-muhnt]

noun

1. cheerful or joyful gaiety; mirth; hilarity; laughter.

   Antonyms: melancholy, misery

2. Obsolete.,  a cause of mirth; a jest, entertainment, etc.

merriment

/ ˈmɛrɪmənt /

noun

1. gaiety, fun, or mirth

Other Word Forms

• overmerriment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of merriment¹

First recorded in 1570–80; merry + -ment

Synonym Study

See mirth.

Example Sentences

From a certain angle, it looked as if Agatha and Pax were glancing at each other, a twin twinkle of merriment in each oil-painted eye.

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Before long, even the solemn Swanburne girls began to talk and giggle among themselves, with nearly the same freedom and merriment Penelope recalled from her own days at school.

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A festival on a sandbar brought 90 minutes of merriment to hundreds of people in the Isles of Scilly.

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The rest of the episode combines bloody, frantic action; a thriller; an absurd stage play; and “choreography and merriment.”

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There shall be no more merriment, and in the words of Nat King Cole, it is time to straighten up and fly right.

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Related Words

• hilarity 
• revelry