adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- rollickingly adverb
- rollickingness noun
Etymology
Origin of rollicking
Explanation
Something that's rollicking is really fun and playful. When you throw a party, you hope your friends will describe it as rollicking. Parties with live music and great food are usually rollicking, and a wonderful game of charades with your family can also be rollicking. You might even describe a funny movie or a song you can dance to this way. The root of rollicking is a nineteenth century verb that we don't use much these days, rollick, "to behave exuberantly." It, in turn, is most likely a combination of frolic and roll.
Vocabulary lists containing rollicking
Things Fall Apart
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Mardi Gras: Fun
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The Woman Warrior
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a rollicking, intense adventure about music and the way it bonds us through history.
From Salon • Jan. 11, 2026
To Brook's credit, he did that well in the first innings of the third Test by easing, rather than rollicking, to 45.
From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025
The audiobook versions of two actors’ memoirs yield some rollicking and resonant moments.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
Earlier, India's openers Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana had set the stage alight, adding 155 off 24.3 overs in a rollicking start.
From Barron's • Oct. 12, 2025
With all that and her rollicking songs, I was on fire.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
