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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
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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
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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
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Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective While the number of drinkers in jolly red suits usually surpasses 1,000 at this costumed crawl, there’s plenty of cocktails to go around.
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Phillip Valys, sun-sentinel.com, "SantaCon’s tipsy Santas are stumbling to town in Fort Lauderdale and Miami," 6 Dec. 2019 This theatrical rendition of the classic film shines light on a jolly man named Kris Kringle, who takes a job in 1947 as a Macy’s Santa.
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Tracy Maness, Houston Chronicle, "Plays, festivals, selfies and more ring in the holidays in Houston," 3 Dec. 2019 No holly, jolly guy in a red suit throwing around candy canes and ho, ho, hos.
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Allyson Reedy, The Know, "6 winter train rides in Colorado to get you in the holiday spirit," 3 Dec. 2019 This jolly ice-breaker is also a calculated dose of escapism.
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The Economist, "Britain’s potential prime ministers both face accusations of prejudice," 30 Nov. 2019 The toy industry hasn't had a very jolly year, with last year's collapse of Toys R Us feeding into a 9% dip in toy sales through July, according to the NPD Group.
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Aimee Picchi, CBS News, "Hot holiday toys: No breakout hits, but a handful of "wow" gifts," 25 Nov. 2019 Dinner preparation waits until the jolly man in red waves atop his parade sleigh.
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Pat Lenhoff, chicagotribune.com, "Column: The holiday season is upon us. Enjoy it while it lasts.," 30 Oct. 2019 Candace passed with flying colors, looking every bit as Christmassy as the jolly, white-bearded man by her side.
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Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, "Candace Cameron-Bure Hit the Red Carpet in a Seriously Sparkly Top," 26 Oct. 2019 Lucy is also conducting an affair of her own, living with the gentle, abstracted Bob while sleeping with the jolly and itinerant Laff.
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Ben Lerner, The New Yorker, "Rosmarie Waldrop’s Novel of the In-Between," 30 Sep. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb That's bad news for jolly old St. Nick, who lives far away in the North Pole.
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Deanna Paul, Anchorage Daily News, "Walmart pulls Christmas sweaters that mixed Santa with sex and cocaine," 10 Dec. 2019 But the Bakers’ daughter later remembered that Florida pioneer life was not all jolly good times.
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Joy Wallace Dickinson, orlandosentinel.com, "From Lake Helen to Christmas, history-based gatherings put out a welcome mat for the holidays," 24 Nov. 2019 Go here for tropical drinks with a holly-jolly vibe.
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Josie Sexton, The Know, "Everything you need to know about Denver’s Christmas pop-up bars," 19 Nov. 2019 The books naturally differ in tone, and the plays — one soothingly jolly, the other brilliantly harrowing — exaggerate that difference.
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Jesse Green, New York Times, "Fleeing Home, but Not Homophobia," 18 Nov. 2019 If the adventures of Charlie, Lucy, Snoopy, and the gang aren’t enough of a selling point for you, the music—composed by jazz legend Vince Guaraldi—is holly-jolly enough to get you in the holiday mood.
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Vogue, "17 of the Best Classic Christmas Movies," 8 Nov. 2019 The Foxes have quietly assembled one of the strongest teams in the league, and Brendan's men are giving their opposition a jolly Rodgering.
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SI.com, "Assessing 6 of the Best Fantasy Football Wildcard Options After the First 8 Weeks," 9 Oct. 2019 PetSmart, the same company that brought you Halloween costumes for guinea pigs, has introduced a line of festive outfits for guinea pigs looking to get real jolly this holiday season.
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Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, "PetSmart's Holiday Guinea Pig Outfits Will Make Your Pet the Star of Any Ugly Sweater Party," 8 Nov. 2019 In the finale, Peled employed a fast tempo to jolly effect.
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cleveland, "CityMusic Cleveland flourishes on first program with new director Amit Peled," 21 Oct. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun More troublesome are the timefall phenomena that accompany the BTs, and the human enemies who get their jollies from stealing and hoarding cargo.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Comments on jolly
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Time Traveler for jolly
The first known use of jolly was in the 14th century
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