revelry
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of revelry
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at revel, -ry
Explanation
Revelry is a wild, fun time. If you enjoy the revelry of a New Year's Eve party, you might pay for partying hard the next day. The noun revelry means merrymaking, but because it comes from the French word reveler meaning to rebel, its tone indicates carousing or noisy partying. It's not your grandparents' tame, sedate cocktail party: revelry is a full-throttle festive gathering, where people outwardly enjoy themselves. In fact, a wild party was once called a "revel," though you don't hear that term used much today.
Vocabulary lists containing revelry
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Party Parlance for Mardi Gras
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New Year, New Words: Vocabulary for January
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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.
Mexican couple Daniela Garcia and Fran Ruiloba joined in for the bottomless revelry after hearing about the event last year.
From Barron's • Jan. 11, 2026
But it goes beyond the Times Square revelry.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 31, 2025
Club founder Nandi Owolo, 30, watched the revelry from a secluded lounge chair, sitting for the first time all day, and marveled at what her little club had become.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2025
Watching a Rajinikanth movie is less a screening than a carnival that is a heady mix of street cred, working-class pride, communal revelry and delirious joy.
From BBC • Aug. 14, 2025
The walls of the keep were thick, yet . even so, they could hear the muffled sounds of revelry from the yard outside.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
