boisterous merrymaking or festivity; revelry.
Often revels an occasion of merrymaking or noisy festivity with dancing, masking, etc.
(foll by in) to take pleasure or wallow
to revel in success
to take part in noisy festivities; make merry
(often plural) an occasion of noisy merrymaking
a less common word for revelry
First recorded in 1275–1325; (for the verb) Middle English revelen, from Old French reveler “to raise tumult, make merry,” from Latin rebellāre “to wage war again” ( rebel ); noun derivative of the verb
Revel means to take great pleasure. If you revel in something, you're not just pleased or even excited; you're overwhelmed by joy. It used to mean riotous merry-making. Now it means to bask in the self-reflected glow of your own pleasure. You revel in your victory lap after winning the race. Your brother is constantly on your case for being clumsy, so when he knocks down a table filled with glassware, you revel in it. Think of it as a high level of pleasure.
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Once the final track has been played, “F.I.G” beckons us to replay, revel in our emotions and dance once, maybe twice or thrice, more.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026
Thousands of people poured into the streets of Paris for the match and to revel in PSG's triumph in the final held in the Hungarian capital Budapest late Saturday.
From Barron's • May 31, 2026
The complex, called Avant Gardner, began to host some of the world’s most famous electronic musicians, and throngs of New Yorkers came to revel in the atmosphere.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
A few years after his iconic goal sealed a 1-0 victory against hosts Spain in the 1982 World Cup, it was the turn of the Republic of Ireland to revel in a shock victory.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
“Me loves Parpar,” said the artful one, preparing to climb the paternal knee and revel in forbidden joys.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
