merriment

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Lively fun and laughter, especially when a group of people are enjoying themselves together.

   Grammar: No plural and no article: the room was full of merriment.

   Patterns

   • merriment at something
   • full of merriment

   The sound of merriment drifted from the kitchen where the cousins were playing cards.

   Her jokes brought great merriment to the dinner table.

   There was much merriment at the wedding when the band started playing.

2. 2noununcountableliterary

   A cheerful, amused look or feeling, shown for instance in someone's eyes or voice.

   Grammar: Often follows in: merriment in his eyes.

   Patterns

   • merriment in someone's eyes

   Her eyes sparkled with merriment as she listened to his story.

   He tried to hide his merriment, but a smile escaped.

Common combinations

general merriment

The announcement was met with general merriment.

scenes of merriment

The old painting showed scenes of merriment in a village square.

sound of merriment

We followed the sound of merriment to the garden.

cause merriment

His clumsy dancing caused much merriment.

holiday merriment

The streets were full of holiday merriment.

Synonyms and how they differ

mirth

Mirth is very close, but it stresses the laughter itself while merriment suggests a whole festive mood.

jollity

Jollity is warm, noisy cheerfulness at a party, a little more old-fashioned than merriment.

fun

Fun is the everyday word and is far more common in speech, while merriment sounds more formal or literary.

revelry

Revelry suggests loud, wild partying, whereas merriment can be gentler.

Opposites

Word family

merry adjective

cheerful and happy

merrily adverb

in a cheerful way

merriness noun

the state of being merry

merrymaking noun

lively festivity

Commonly confused: merriment or marriage?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “merriment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words