ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Jolly

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈd͡ʒɒli/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Jolly is an adjective meaning Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial; joyous; merry.

Meaning

Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial; joyous; merry.

More Meanings

  1. (colloquial, dated) Splendid, excellent, pleasant.
  2. (informal) Drunk.
  3. (UK, often humorous) A pleasure trip or excursion; especially, an expenses-paid or unnecessary one.
  4. Ellipsis of jolly boat.
  5. (British, dated) Very, extremely.
  6. (slang, dated) A marine in the English navy.
  7. (slang, archaic) A word of praise, or favorable notice.

Example Sentences

It’s jolly hot in here, isn’t it?
I'm a Jolly — 'Er Majesty's Jolly — soldier an' sailor too!
[…] he is swelled into jolly dimensions by frequent potations of malt liquors […]
"A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curst. ..."

Word Forms

Synonyms for jolly

Depending on context, synonyms include jocund, cheerful, joey, glaver, puff, collogue.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include jocund, merry, jovial, joyous, mirthful, pretty.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.