jollity

noun

jol·​li·​ty ˈjä-lə-tē 

plural jollities

1

: the quality or state of being jolly : merriment

2

British : a festive gathering

Synonyms

• festivity
• gayety
• cheerfulness
• merriment
• celebration
• jollification
• merrymaking
• revelry
• gaiety

Examples of jollity in a Sentence

I love all of the warmhearted jollity of the holiday season.

Recent Examples on the Web

The jollity extends to the audience, which if Friday’s night’s crowd was indication is largely filled with family and friends of the large cast and who are prone to applaud and whoop at the end of every scene. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2025

The free-living, hard-drinking Brett uses wit and jollity to mask her inner desperation. —Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2025

Some years at Cannes, the Med’s most effervescent seasonal kickoff, the bubbles and spice of the social froth provide the jollity. —Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025

Sign up Eating and drinking (Image credit: Riverside Luxury Cruises) The first thing to say about eating on The Ravel is that there is no Captain's Table or forced jollity with other passengers. —James Rampton, theweek, 6 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for jollity

• polity
• quality
• causality
• equality
• frivolity
• sodality
• inequality

Kids Definition

jollity

noun

jol·​li·​ty ˈjäl-ət-ē 

plural jollities

: merrymaking sense 1, gaiety