merry

mer·ry

adjective \ˈmer-ē, ˈme-rē\

mer·ri·ermer·ri·est

Definition of MERRY

1

archaic : giving pleasure : delightful

2

: full of gaiety or high spirits : mirthful

3

: marked by festivity or gaiety

4

: quick, brisk <a merry pace>

— mer·ri·ly \ˈmer-ə-lē, ˈme-rə-\ adverb

— mer·ri·ness \ˈmer-ē-nəs, ˈme-rē-\ noun

Examples of MERRY

1. Let's eat, drink, and be merry!
2. They sang a merry little song.

Origin of MERRY

Middle English mery, from Old English myrge, merge; akin to Old High German murg short — more at brief

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to MERRY

Synonyms

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

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

Synonym Discussion of MERRY

merry, blithe, jocund, jovial, jolly mean showing high spirits or lightheartedness. merry suggests cheerful, joyous, uninhibited enjoyment of frolic or festivity <a merry group of revelers>. blithe suggests carefree, innocent, or even heedless gaiety <arrived late in his usual blithe way>. jocund stresses elation and exhilaration of spirits <singing, dancing, and jocund feasting>. jovial suggests the stimulation of conviviality and good fellowship <dinner put them in a jovial mood>. jolly suggests high spirits expressed in laughing, bantering, and jesting <our jolly host enlivened the party>.