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revel

[rev-uh l]
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verb (used without object), rev·eled, rev·el·ing or (especially British) rev·elled, rev·el·ling.
  1. to take great pleasure or delight (usually followed by in): to revel in luxury.
  2. to make merry; indulge in boisterous festivities.
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noun
  1. boisterous merrymaking or festivity; revelry.
  2. Often revels. an occasion of merrymaking or noisy festivity with dancing, masking, etc.
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Origin of revel

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English revelen < Old French reveler to raise tumult, make merry < Latin rebellāre to rebel; (noun) Middle English < Old French, derivative of reveler
Related formsrev·el·er; especially British, rev·el·ler, nounrev·el·ment, nounun·rev·el·ing, adjectiveun·rev·el·ling, adjective

Synonyms

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2. celebrate, carouse, roister, caper.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for revelling

Historical Examples

  • She is trifling with me, and very likely she is now revelling in her triumph.

    The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

    Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

  • Do you dream that, while you have been revelling, she has been idly whimpering in her chamber?

  • I left my carriage half a mile below, and have been revelling in the sun and air.

    Robert Elsmere

    Mrs. Humphry Ward

  • And he went in to fight, revelling like a giant in the red lust of killing.

    Bob, Son of Battle

    Alfred Ollivant

  • Alone with Jack I kept on along the steep trail, revelling in my freedom.

    A Wayfarer in China

    Elizabeth Kendall

British Dictionary definitions for revelling

revel

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled (intr)
  1. (foll by in) to take pleasure or wallowto revel in success
  2. to take part in noisy festivities; make merry
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noun
  1. (often plural) an occasion of noisy merrymaking
  2. a less common word for revelry
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Derived Formsreveller, nounrevelment, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Old French reveler to be merry, noisy, from Latin rebellāre to revolt, rebel
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for revelling

revel

n.

late 14c., "riotous merry-making," from Old French revel "entertainment, revelry," verbal noun from reveler "be disorderly, make merry" (see revel (v.)). Related: Revels; revel-rout.

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revel

v.

early 14c., "to feast in a noisy manner;" late 14c., "take part in revels," from Old French reveler, also rebeller "be disorderly, make merry; rebel, be riotous," from Latin rebellare "to rebel" (see rebel (v.)). The meaning "take great pleasure in" first recorded 1754. Related: Reveled; reveling; revelled; revelling.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper