JOLLY (jollied, jollier, jolliest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: jollied    , jollier    , jolliest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does jolly mean? 

• JOLLY (noun)
  The noun JOLLY has 2 senses:

1. a happy party

2. a yawl used by a ship's sailors for general work

  Familiarity information: JOLLY used as a noun is rare.

• JOLLY (adjective)
  The adjective JOLLY has 1 sense:

1. full of or showing high-spirited merriment

  Familiarity information: JOLLY used as an adjective is very rare.

• JOLLY (verb)
  The verb JOLLY has 1 sense:

1. be silly or tease one another

  Familiarity information: JOLLY used as a verb is very rare.

• JOLLY (adverb)
  The adverb JOLLY has 1 sense:

1. to certain extent or degree

  Familiarity information: JOLLY used as an adverb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• JOLLY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A happy party

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("jolly" is a kind of...):

party (an occasion on which people can assemble for social interaction and entertainment)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Derivation:

jolly (be silly or tease one another)

jolly (full of or showing high-spirited merriment)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A yawl used by a ship's sailors for general work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

jolly; jolly boat

Hypernyms ("jolly" is a kind of...):

yawl (a ship's small boat (usually rowed by 4 or 6 oars))

• JOLLY (adjective)

Comparative: jollier   
Superlative: jolliest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Full of or showing high-spirited merriment

Synonyms:

gay; jocund; jolly; jovial; merry; mirthful

Context example:

a mirthful laugh

Similar:

joyous (full of or characterized by joy)

Derivation:

jolliness; jollity (feeling jolly and jovial and full of good humor)

jolly (a happy party)

• JOLLY (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be silly or tease one another

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

banter; chaff; jolly; josh; kid

Context example:

After we relaxed, we just kidded around

Hypernyms (to "jolly" is one way to...):

bait; cod; rag; rally; razz; ride; tantalise; tantalize; taunt; tease; twit (harass with persistent criticism or carping)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

jolly (a happy party)

• JOLLY (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

To certain extent or degree

Synonyms:

fairly; jolly; middling; moderately; passably; pretty; reasonably; somewhat

Context example:

he is fairly clever with computers

 Context examples 

On the whole, I think that we are jolly well out of it.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It's really refreshing to see a sensible, straightforward girl, who can be jolly and kind without making a fool of herself.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“Did you leave her pretty jolly?”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Well, Mr. Morris sat down beside me and looked as happy and jolly as he could, but I could see all the same that he was very nervous.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“A Welsh dagsman, i' faith! C'etait mauvais gout, camarade, and the more so when she had a jolly archer and a lusty man-at-arms to choose from.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Right up there is our line for the Pole Star and the jolly dollars.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

And another, I know what I’ll say—that I heered a row, jumped out of my bunk, got a jolly good crack on the jaw for my pains, and sailed in myself.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Jupiter rules your ninth house of travel and will be in an especially jolly mood, sprinkling unexpected fun and warmth everywhere you go.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I have learned since that sailors can be coarse and foul, but never did I know it from my father; for, although he had seen as much rough work as the wildest could wish for, he was always the same patient, good-humoured man, with a smile and a jolly word for all the village.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Indeed, a jolly little clown came walking toward them, and Dorothy could see that in spite of his pretty clothes of red and yellow and green he was completely covered with cracks, running every which way and showing plainly that he had been mended in many places.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)