Definition of CONVIVIALITY

Other Words from convivial

conviviality \ kən-ˌvi-vē-ˈa-lə-tē

\ noun

convivially \ kən-ˈviv-yə-lē

, -ˈvi-vē-ə-lē \ adverb

Did You Know?

Convivial traces to "convivium," a Latin word meaning "banquet," and tends to suggest a mood of full-bellied joviality. Charles Dickens aptly captures that sense in his novel David Copperfield: "We had a beautiful little dinner. Quite an elegant dish of fish; the kidney-end of a loin of veal, roasted; fried sausage-meat; a partridge, and a pudding. There was wine, and there was strong ale.... Mr. Micawber was uncommonly convivial. I never saw him such good company. He made his face shine with the punch, so that it looked as if it had been varnished all over. He got cheerfully sentimental about the town, and proposed success to it."

Examples of convivial in a Sentence

the hiking club attracts a wide range of convivial people who share a love of the outdoors

Recent Examples on the Web Food and drink at Chameleon is inspired by Tel Aviv restaurants, with convivial, sharing style dishes created under Chef Elior Balbul (Catit and Blue Sky in Tel Aviv, Alenbi in New York). — Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, "New London Restaurant And Club In Historic Landmark Designed By Sir John Soane," 27 Apr. 2021 To set a convivial tone, Virginia painted the front door of her 1920s American foursquare chartreuse. — Jennifer Fernandez, Better Homes & Gardens, "Upbeat Colors and Rehabbed Rescues Take This 1920s New Jersey Foursquare from Basic to Bold," 23 Apr. 2021 Beverages loosen up the townspeople, creating convivial moments only hushed with a bite of food. — Danielle Bernabe, Fortune, "The next steps for reopening restaurants and bringing communities back together," 10 Apr. 2021 This month marks a year of takeout only for a place where convivial togetherness was always on the menu. — BostonGlobe.com, "3 places we supported this week," 23 Mar. 2021 On this chilly night in October 2019, Erin French comes out of the open kitchen into the rustic dining room and, in keeping with the restaurant’s convivial atmosphere, greets her guests with a toast. — Washington Post, "How the Lost Kitchen, one of the nation’s hardest-to-book restaurants, survived a lost year," 15 Mar. 2021 At the back of the store is the pharmacy, which has a more communal, convivial spirit than your average Walgreens, with many long-term patrons stopping in for their medicines and vitamins, and staying to chat or get advice. — New York Times, "A New York Drugstore Nearly as Storied as the City Itself," 26 Feb. 2021 In London, the convivial pubs, which make the short days and long nights bearable, are shuttered. — Washington Post, "With the virus raging, Europeans grudgingly accept the dashed hopes of Christmas," 24 Dec. 2020 The company is convivial, a fire pit is blazing and two cheerful barmen are serving up endless glasses of steaming Glühwein, a Christmassy concoction of spices, citrus, sugar and (usually bad) red wine. — The Economist, "The joys and perils of Glühwein gatherings in Germany," 12 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'convivial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.