drollness

noun

Definition of drollnessnext
as in humorousness
the amusing quality or element in something fans of Edward Gorey appreciate the delicious drollness of his illustrations of poker-faced individuals caught in macabre situations

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drollness
  1. humor
  2. irony
Noun
  • Director Margaret Shigeko Starbuck leans into makeshift theatricality — flashlights, pool noodles, pocket umbrellas — while a nimble ensemble balances meta-theatrical humor with genuine feeling for Pericles and his beleaguered family.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Throughout the financial troubles that the couple face given Fyodor’s inability to deliver pages, Szumowska and Englert feature scatological humor that further dissolves any notions of elegance associated with 19th-century Europe.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of humor
Noun
  • New York City in the seventies and early eighties, the crucial backdrop for hip-hop’s rise, was a Technicolor place of exaggerated ironies.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Giamatti is Jerry, the tyrannical director billed, without irony, as the biggest name in New Jersey community theater.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of irony
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

drollery
drollness
drolls
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Cite this Entry

“Drollness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drollness. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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