convivial
adjective
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."
Synonyms
Examples of convivial in a Sentence
Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024
The limited-capacity seating and relatively remote location on the Inverness Ridge helps foster an intimate, salon-style feeling at these concerts, classier and more convivial than your typical club gig.
—Daniel Bromfield, The Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2024
Plus, Spanish culture is lively, with people out on the streets and plazas and a convivial ambiance that continues late into most evenings.
—Kathleen Peddicord, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
The guests who noshed on Thomas’ roast beef and guzzled his liquor suddenly are a lot less convivial.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024
So your guests may be thinking of this as a meal out, rather than a convivial evening.
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
Hotels often try to make their guests feel like locals, and Bardo has succeeded here by adding convivial neighbors into the mix.
—Denny Lee, Travel + Leisure, 17 Mar. 2024
Running and skipping and playing soccer, some would intermittently break away from their playmates to check in with their parents, who sat in large, convivial groups at tables near mine, before running back to their games.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
The home’s original, genteel charm is present at every turn, but at the same time, the interior spaces have been tweaked and opened to each other for a less formal, more convivial layout conducive to relaxed entertaining.
—Mark David, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'convivial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near convivial
Cite this Entry
“Convivial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convivial. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Share