revelry

noun

rev·​el·​ry ˈre-vəl-rē How to pronounce revelry (audio)
: noisy partying or merrymaking

Examples of revelry in a Sentence

Each city has its own Carnival, but none, not even the revelry of Mardi Gras, is as spectacular as Brooklyn's. Peter Noel, Village Voice, 6 Sept. 1994
Wassailing is an ancient English custom, part of the feasts and revelry of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, which have been revived in Colonial Williamsburg. Joan P. Dutton, The Williamsburg Cookbook, 1975
The tall minister stood again at the altar. He waited for the song and the revelry to die. Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969
The small birds were taking their farewell banquets. In the fullness of their revelry, they fluttered, chirping and frolicking from bush to bush, and tree to tree … Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 1820
the lottery winner was exhausted after a long night of revelry
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Only seven miles away from the Red Lodge's classic main street, the mountain is the perfect choice for those looking to combine a ski getaway with shopping, Western history, saloon revelry, and good-old-fashioned small-town hospitality. Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 4 Nov. 2025 This Halloween, there are no lights, no revelry, no sugar highs. Danielle Bacher, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025 By the end of the game, hundreds of shirtless brethren had joined in on the revelry, stretching across four sections and making headlines. Justin Williams, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025 For all the revelry, there was a tough, discursive seriousness in the approach that Lang and O’Hara took to their labors in the late forties and early fifties. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for revelry

Word History

Etymology

see revel entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of revelry was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Revelry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revelry. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

revelry

noun
rev·​el·​ry ˈrev-əl-rē How to pronounce revelry (audio)
plural revelries
: rough and noisy merrymaking

More from Merriam-Webster on revelry

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!