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Regale has been an English verb since the early half of the 1600s, having been adapted from the French word régaler. That word traces back to the Middle French verb galer, which means “to have a good time.” (Gala, meaning “a festive celebration,” is from the same source.) Today, regale still applies when someone is entertaining or amusing another, especially by sharing stories. Regale also sometimes functions as a noun meaning “a sumptuous feast.” An early use of the noun appears in the preface to a 1732 dramatic poem by George Granville: “An English stomach … will rise hungry from a regale of nothing but sweet-meats.”
Examples of regale in a Sentence
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Feb. 2026
Robbie is at her finest when regaling Charli XCX or Jessie Ware and her mom about her clubbing days.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2026
Ekman-Larsson was just a boy in Karlskrona, sitting on the floor of his grandparents’ home, when Kenneth would lean back in his chair and regale him with stories of his Swedish team tying the mighty Soviet Union at the 1972 Winter Olympics.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Ninny regales Evelyn with tales of Idgi, her sister-in-law and friend who used to run the Whistle Stop Cafe, a restaurant on the outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama, that served good coffee, better barbecue, and great gossip.
—Amanda Favazza, Southern Living, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for regale
Cite this Entry
“Regale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regale. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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