joviality

[ joh-vee-al-i-tee ]

noun

1. the state or quality of being jovial; merriment; jollity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of joviality¹

First recorded in 1620–30; jovial + -ity; compare French jovialité

Synonym Study

See mirth.

Example Sentences

“And there was kind of a pall from the joviality and it quieted down… In a sense, I hope that the players themselves took that to say, ‘You know, we do have to do something.’”

From Los Angeles Times

A classmate at the time said she had turned the school "in completely the opposite direction" during the election, using her "personality, joviality and optimism".

From BBC

The bright, colorful animations — arguments and fights are in surreal landscapes — add a sense of joviality to the proceedings.

From Los Angeles Times

One Christmas obligation is to bring tidings of comfort to those who, because they are suffering, find the obligatory joviality of the season off-putting and depressing.

From Washington Post

The joviality didn’t last long — or, rather, it flipped back and forth between dancers driving across the floor to more introspective moments for Marcellus, whose rich, layered vocalizations filled the theater.

From New York Times