jollity

[ jol-i-tee ]

noun

, plural jol·li·ties.

1. jolly or merry mood, condition, or activity; gaiety.
2. jollities, jolly festivities.

jollity

/ ˈdʒɒlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the condition of being jolly

Word History and Origins

Origin of jollity¹

1250–1300; Middle English jolite, from Old French, equivalent to joli(f) “gay” ( jolly ) + -te -ty ²

Synonym Study

See mirth.

Example Sentences

“Yeah, I’ll give you a sticker for free,” Massry says, with the forced jollity of a bartender at 2 a.m.

From Slate

The result produced the forced jollity of a room in which the audience is strenuously urged to “sing along now!”

From Seattle Times

Both are also generally spared the over-emphatic jollity that Dehnert has evidently encouraged as a way of plowing through difficult passages of dialogue and forcing the weird jokes to bloom.

From New York Times

Nothing goes quite as planned, and Silvio’s irrepressible jollity is no match for the tides and crosscurrents of postwar Italy.

From New York Times

Prince Andrew, the ebullient third child — his nickname was “Randy Andy” — had served with distinction in the Falklands War and brought some apparent jollity to his staid family by marrying Sarah Ferguson, a full-of-fun redhead known as Fergie.

From New York Times