drollery

American  

[droh-luh-ree] / ˈdroʊ lə ri /

noun

plural

drolleries

1. something whimsically amusing or funny.

2. an oddly amusing story or jest.

3. a droll quality or manner; whimsical humor.

4. the action or behavior of a droll, waggish person; jesting.

5. a comic picture.

6. Archaic. a puppet show.

---

drollery British  

/ ˈdrəʊlərɪ /

noun

1. humour; comedy

2. rare a droll act, story, or remark

---

Etymology

Origin of drollery

1590–1600; droll + -ery; compare French drôlerie

Example Sentences

The drollery in “Seasons” is based on the eternal question about what can, and invariably will, go wrong next.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Eddie Izzard, the wry, gender-fluid British comedian who came to attention with a stream of observational drollery that picked away at common sense, takes on the whole teeming tragedy.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026

The result was an interview brimming with drollery and repartee, as they talked about the rumours of a Beatles reunion, the future of rock music, and life with the Wings.

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2023

But mostly when aiming for drollery, the songwriters overshoot and wind up at operetta.

From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2023

It was the humorous side of life, even of the tragedies of life, that appealed to him, and he reflected it back with an incisive drollery which was irresistible.

From The History of the Nineteenth Century in Caricature by Cooper, Frederic Taber