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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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The audience knows if you’re authentic or not,” says Ryan Revel, a talent manager who represents “The Challenge” alum Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and former “Vanderpump Rules” stars Tom Sandoval, Kristen Doute and Jax Taylor.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
Judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke will all return to the new series when it launches in the autumn.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Revel Collective, chaired by former Pizza Express boss Luke Johnson, said administrators will be appointed within 10 days.
From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026
Revel Horwood, who has been part of the Strictly line-up since 2004, said the idea for the calendar came about after neighbour Chris Wickes was diagnosed.
From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025
She made several ineffectual snatches at the general attention and then Revel drifted towards a topic she regarded as particularly her own, the ordering of households.
From Kipps The Story of a Simple Soul by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
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.
