jolly

¹jol·ly

adjective \ˈjä-lē\

jol·li·erjol·li·est

Definition of JOLLY

1

a (1) : full of high spirits : joyous (2) : given to conviviality : jovial

b : expressing, suggesting, or inspiring gaiety : cheerful

2

: extremely pleasant or agreeable : splendid

Examples of JOLLY

1. Our boss was a very jolly man, always laughing.
2. She had a jolly time at the party.

Origin of JOLLY

Middle English joli, from Anglo-French jolif, from jol-, probably from Old Norse jōl midwinter festival — more at yule

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to JOLLY

Synonyms

blithesome, festive, gay, gleeful, jocose, jocular, jocund, merry, jovial, laughing, mirthful, sunny

Antonyms

disagreeable, pleasureless, unpalatable, unpleasant, unwelcome

Related Words

amused, beaming, chuckling, giggling, smiling; bright, buoyant, carefree, cheerful, cheery, chipper, lighthearted, lightsome, upbeat; animated, bouncing, frisky, jaunty, lively, peppy, perky, spirited, sprightful, sprightly, vivacious, zippy; blessed (also blest), blissful, delighted, ecstatic, elated, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, gladsome, happy, high, joyful, joyous, jubilant, overjoyed, radiant, rapturous, ravished, thrilled, tickled; amusing, facetious, flippant, frolicsome, funny, hilarious, jesting, joking, joshing, playful, sportive, witty; cavalier, devil-may-care, easygoing, happy-go-lucky, insouciant, unconcerned; hopeful, optimistic, rosy, sanguine; antic, comic, comical, farcical, humorous, riotous, sidesplitting, uproarious

Near Antonyms

abject, aggrieved, anguished, blue, brokenhearted, crestfallen, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, disheartened, dispirited, downcast, downhearted, forlorn, glum, heartbroken, heartsick, heavyhearted, low-spirited, melancholy, sad, saddened, sorrowful, unhappy; crying, groaning, moaning, sobbing, wailing, weeping; discontented, disgruntled, moody; doleful, dolorous, joyless, lachrymose, lugubrious, mournful, plaintive, sorry, woeful; black, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, dark, depressing, desolate, dismal, dreary, gloomy, glum, gray (also grey), morose, saturnine, somber (or sombre), sullen; miserable, woebegone, wretched; dull, lethargic, listless, sluggish, torpid

See Synonym Discussion at merry

Rhymes with JOLLY

Bali, brolly, Cali, collie, colly, Dalí, dolly, folly, golly, holly, lolly, Mali, molly, Pali, poly, quale, trolley, volley

²jolly

adverb

Definition of JOLLY

: very <would … do as they were jolly well told — John Stockbridge>

Examples of JOLLY

1. “I've finished my assignment.” “Jolly good!”
2. She learned to be jolly careful in his presence.

First Known Use of JOLLY

1549

Related to JOLLY

Synonyms

achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly (also exceeding), extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, very, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous [chiefly dialect], mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly

Antonyms

little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat

Related Words

absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly; deeply, profoundly; exceptionally, notably, remarkably; considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially; appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly; abundantly, plentifully; astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally; excessively, obscenely, overmuch; amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly

Near Antonyms

meagerly, scantily; barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

Rhymes with JOLLY

dolly, trolley, volley

³jolly

verb

jol·liedjol·ly·ing

Definition of JOLLY

intransitive verb

: to engage in good-natured banter

transitive verb

: to put or try to put in good humor especially to gain an end

Examples of JOLLY

1. <spent their nights around the campfire good-naturedly jollying and telling scary stories>

First Known Use of JOLLY

1610

Related to JOLLY

Synonyms

banter, chaff, fool, fun, gag, jape, jest, jive, joke, josh, kid, quip, wisecrack, yuk (or yuck) [slang]

Related Words

gibe (or jibe), haze, jeer, mock, rag, rally, razz, rib, ridicule, tease; caricature, lampoon, parody, satirize; amuse, divert, entertain

⁴jolly

noun

plural jollies

Definition of JOLLY

1

chiefly British : a good time : jollification

2

plural : kicks <get their jollies by reenacting famous murders — H. F. Waters>

First Known Use of JOLLY

1905