To save this word, you'll need to log in.
jol·ly | \ ˈjä-lē 
\
\jollier; jolliest
Definition of jolly
(Entry 1 of 4)
jolly
adverbDefinition of jolly (Entry 2 of 4)
: very would … do as they were jolly well told— John Stockbridge
jolly
noun plural jollies
Definition of jolly (Entry 3 of 4)
jolly
verbjollied; jollying
Definition of jolly (Entry 4 of 4)
: to engage in good-natured banter jollied and joked with sailors in the street— Dixon Wecter
: to put or try to put in good humor especially to gain an end
try to pay for their entertainment by jollying us along— S. E. White
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms & Antonyms for jolly
Synonyms: Adjective
- blithe,
- blithesome,
- festive,
- gay,
- gleeful,
- jocose,
- jocular,
- jocund,
- jovial,
- laughing,
- merry,
- mirthful,
- sunny
Synonyms: Adverb
- achingly,
- almighty,
- archly,
- awful,
- awfully,
- badly,
- beastly,
- blisteringly,
- bone,
- colossally,
- corking,
- cracking,
- damn,
- damned,
- dang,
- deadly,
- desperately,
- eminently,
- enormously,
- especially,
- ever,
- exceedingly
- (also exceeding),
- extra,
- extremely,
- fabulously,
- fantastically,
- far,
- fiercely,
- filthy,
- frightfully,
- full,
- greatly,
- heavily,
- highly,
- hugely,
- immensely,
- incredibly,
- intensely,
- majorly,
- mightily,
- mighty,
- monstrous
- [chiefly dialect],
- mortally,
- most,
- much,
- particularly,
- passing,
- rattling,
- real,
- really,
- right,
- roaring,
- roaringly,
- seriously,
- severely,
- so,
- sore,
- sorely,
- spanking,
- specially,
- stinking,
- such,
- super,
- supremely,
- surpassingly,
- terribly,
- that,
- thumping,
- too,
- unco,
- uncommonly,
- vastly,
- very,
- vitally,
- way,
- whacking,
- wicked,
- wildly
Synonyms: Verb
- banter,
- chaff,
- fool,
- fun,
- gag,
- jape,
- jest,
- jive,
- joke,
- josh,
- kid,
- quip,
- wisecrack,
- yuk
- (or yuck)
- [slang]
Antonyms: Adverb
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of jolly in a Sentence
Adjective
Our boss was a very jolly man, always laughing.
She had a jolly time at the party. Adverb
“I've finished my assignment.” “Jolly good!”
She learned to be jolly careful in his presence. Verb
spent their nights around the campfire good-naturedly jollying and telling scary stories
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective For family-friendly Facebook, Dolly in a jolly Christmas sweater.
—
Scottie Andrew, CNN, "That 'LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Tinder' meme was started by none other than Dolly Parton," 24 Jan. 2020 For example, images of Winnie the Pooh, an endearingly jolly bear with a penchant for honey, have been censored across the country.
—
Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, "University of Minnesota student imprisoned in China for mocking Xi Jinping," 22 Jan. 2020 On the way back to Epcot, the tour’s holly jolly guests get two more surprises: A printout of the Christmas photo taken at the Disney Event Group as well as a pin not only exclusive to the Disney’s Yuletide Fantasy, but also specific to the year.
—
Kathleen Christiansen, orlandosentinel.com, "Disney tour spreads Christmas cheer with exclusive experiences," 27 Nov. 2019 The breakfast is a very festive holiday affair with a jolly old Santa right there to visit with the kids.
—
Chris Folks, baltimoresun.com, "West Laurel: Young musicians heading to the Windy City; woman’s club to hold Breakfast With Santa," 27 Nov. 2019 Travelers have certainly taken advantage of the jolly competition—the illuminations are so popular, that lights remain up in the city until February.
—
Caitlin Morton, Condé Nast Traveler, "19 Best Christmas Light Displays Around the World," 26 Nov. 2019 But if pressing your own fresh coconut doesn’t sound like a holly jolly good time, don’t feel deterred.
—
Nina Hemphill Reeder, Essence, "Get Into The Holiday Spirit With These Traditional Caribbean Cocktails," 25 Dec. 2019 The singer, 40, and supermodel, 34, spent the holiday with family and their kids, daughter Luna Simone, 3½, and son Miles Theodore, 19 months — but the group was interrupted Christmas morning by a certain jolly visitor dressed in red.
—
Jen Juneau, PEOPLE.com, "A Legendary Christmas! Chrissy Teigen and John Legend Surprise Kids with Real-Life Santa Clause," 25 Dec. 2019 Each flat has a kitchen, and there is a jolly communal café.
—
The Economist, "Finland has slashed homelessness; the rest of Europe is failing," 18 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb The atmosphere was rather jolly, this being not only the eve of Fonda’s birthday but also the Friday before Christmas.
—
Barbara Demick, The New Yorker, "Jane Fonda’s Climate-Change Star Power," 27 Dec. 2019 Then again, maybe your holiday gifts weren't so holly and jolly.
—
Wired Staff, Wired, "Got some Holiday Cash? Check Out These After-Christmas Deals," 27 Dec. 2019 There was nothing merry, holly or jolly about this Christmas for the Milwaukee Bucks.
—
Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "76ers 121, Bucks 109: A Christmas performance to forget for Giannis and friends," 25 Dec. 2019 Each was marked with a stamp or a sticker showing the program’s jolly mascot, and on one side of each box was the last name of a family in need: Williams, Martinez, Vaughn, Zhu.
—
Jeremy C. Fox, BostonGlobe.com, "USPS helps Globe Santa get gifts down the chimney," 17 Dec. 2019 Besides, only a real Grinch would ticket such a jolly ol’ soul.
—
René A. Guzman, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio man steals the Christmas show as the Grinch on an ATV sled," 16 Dec. 2019 That’s bad news for jolly old St. Nick, who lives far away in the North Pole.
—
Marc Bain, Quartz, "Colombia is threatening to sue Walmart over a cocaine-themed holiday sweater," 11 Dec. 2019 The pro-Christmasites’ answer: well, there was nothing jolly about the Massacre of the Innocents, either.
—
N.b., The Economist, "Is “Die Hard” a Christmas film?," 6 Dec. 2019 Very jolly, very happy, very whimsical and magical.
—
Ed Masley, azcentral, "Lindsey Stirling is so not sorry for getting an early start on Christmas this year," 20 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The Christmas jollies may quickly fade when drivers head home, as traffic jams are expected to be the worst the day after Christmas.
—
Mola Lenghi, CBS News, "Record 115 million Americans expected to travel for holidays," 20 Dec. 2019 People who get their jollies by crushing helpless animals underfoot would be a perfect place to begin.
—
Ted Diadiun, cleveland, "Why do we need a law to keep people from torturing animals?," 6 Dec. 2019 More troublesome are the timefall phenomena that accompany the BTs, and the human enemies who get their jollies from stealing and hoarding cargo.
—
Evan Lewis, EW.com, "Death Stranding is as bizarre as it is innovative," 1 Nov. 2019 The drinks - from fine rose to Pimm's - flow freely and are served by attentive male waiters, most akin to models in their looks, while a band jollies along in the background.
—
Matt Majendie, CNN, "London's boutique horse sale in Prince William's back yard," 26 June 2019 The rich customers came off as ruthless one-percenters, getting their jollies by shooting cowboys and raping women.
—
Kristi Turnquist, OregonLive.com, "'Westworld' Season 2: Violence is abundant, but delights are scarce (review)," 20 Apr. 2018 The Hamptons can finally get its jollies out after years of burning, suppressed desire, a tension that could press coal into diamond in a second flat.
—
Richard Lawson, Vanities, "Finally, the Hamptons Will Be Sexy," 5 July 2017 The Hamptons can finally get its jollies out after years of burning, suppressed desire, a tension that could press coal into diamond in a second flat.
—
Richard Lawson, vanityfair.com, "Finally, the Hamptons Will Be Sexy," 5 July 2017 And as ever with Gorillaz, Albarn got his jollies by leading the way through bouncy, easily accessible and playfully experimental pop songs that whimsically combine mostly American music forms, with the help of lots of guests.
—
Dan Deluca, Philly.com, "Review: Gorillaz satisfy a soggy crowd at Festival Pier," 14 July 2017 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb As to the political will needed to jolly the process along, and arrange payment for those parts of the programme that will not pay for themselves, this can push both ways.
—
The Economist, "Predicting the climatic future is riddled with uncertainty," 21 Sep. 2019 So Watt sets out to convince them that the real killer is Peter Manuel by — wait for it! — taking him out on a bender and jollying him into a confession.
—
Marilyn Stasio, New York Times, "Scots on the Rocks and Jo Nesbo’s Latest: The Best New Crime Fiction," 19 May 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jolly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for jolly
jolly
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of jolly
(Entry 1 of 2)
: full of happiness and joy : happy and cheerful
old-fashioned : very pleasant or enjoyable
jolly
adverbEnglish Language Learners Definition of jolly (Entry 2 of 2)
British, informal + old-fashioned : very or extremely
See the full definition for jolly in the English Language Learners Dictionary
jolly
adjectivejol·ly | \ ˈjä-lē \
\jollier; jolliest
Kids Definition of jolly
(Entry 1 of 2)
: full of fun or joy
jolly
adverbKids Definition of jolly (Entry 2 of 2)
: very entry 1 sense 1 We had a jolly good time.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on jolly
What made you want to look up jolly? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
More Confusing Words—Quiz
- The magician
______moved the selected card to the top of the deck.
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- More Confusing Words—Quiz
How many of these commonly confused words do you know?
Take the quiz - Name that Thing: Toys and Games Edition
It's all fun and games until someone beats your high score.
Take the quiz - Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz - Syn City
Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.
Play the game
Share jolly
Time Traveler for jolly
The first known use of jolly was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century