droll

1 of 3

adjective

ˈdrōl 

: having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality

His dignified presence decorated our droll little quarters.

—Gwendolyn Brooks

drollness noun

drolly

ˈdrō(l)-lē 

adverb

droll

2 of 3

noun

: an amusing person : jester, comedian

droll

3 of 3

verb

drolled; drolling; drolls

intransitive verb

archaic

: to make fun : jest, sport

… drolling a little upon the corporal …

—Laurence Sterne

Synonyms of droll

Adjective

• humorous
• comedic
• funny
• amusing
• comical
• comic
• entertaining

Noun

• comedian

Examples of droll in a Sentence

Adjective

a droll little man with a peculiar sense of humor

a book of droll stories

Noun

the drolls of late-night TV had a field day with that senator's sexual shenanigans

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Smart gave the character a delivery all her own—deadpan, droll, and fabulous. — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 29 May 2026

Zendaya’s Rue works as a drug mule for the forever droll Laurie (the great Martha Kelly). — Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026

And Peter Cook, who can give a droll twist to the flattest of lines, is urbanely sinister as the professor who’d like to start a coven of his own. — Arthur Knight, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026

Zelensky then issued a magnanimous, droll decree, formally granting Putin permission to hold the parade. — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Noun, and Verb

French drôle, from drôle scamp, from Middle French drolle, from Middle Dutch, imp

First Known Use

Adjective

1623, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1645, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1654, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for droll

• bole
• bowl
• coal
• foal
• goal
• hole
• knoll
• kol
• mole
• noll
• nolle
• ole

Kids Definition

droll

adjective

ˈdrōl

: having an odd or amusing quality

drollness noun

drolly

ˈdrō(l)-lē

adverb