Meaning & use
regale
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To amuse or interest people by telling them lively stories or jokes.
Grammar: Takes a person as object, usually followed by with: she regaled the guests with stories.
Patterns
- regale someone with something
Grandpa regaled the children with tales of his sailing days.
She regaled her colleagues with funny stories about the trip.
He loved to regale visitors with local legends.
verbtransitiveliteraryold-fashioned
To give someone plenty of good food or drink, or a lavish treat.
Grammar: Used with with, mainly in old or literary writing: regaled with wine and cake.
Patterns
- regale someone with something
The hosts regaled us with roast pheasant and wine.
Travelers were regaled with fresh bread and honey.
The king regaled his guests with a banquet.
Word forms
| third person singular | regales |
|---|---|
| past tense | regaled |
| past participle | regaled |
| -ing form | regaling |
Common combinations
- regale with stories
- He regaled us with stories of his army days.
- regale with tales
- She regaled the table with tales of her travels.
- regale guests
- The host regaled guests all evening.
- regale with jokes
- They regaled each other with jokes on the train.
- regale friends
- Uncle Tom loves to regale friends at dinner.
Synonyms and how they differ
- entertain
- Entertain is neutral and covers any kind of amusement, whereas regale suggests a lively, long, talkative performance.
- amuse
- Amuse focuses on making someone laugh, while regale focuses on the storyteller delivering at length.
- enthrall
- Enthrall implies holding people spellbound, which is stronger than the friendly sociability of regale.
- treat
- Treat someone to something often involves food or an outing, while regale is mostly about talk.
Opposites
Word family
- regalement noun
- entertainment or a feast, rare
Commonly confused: regale or regal? regale or relegate?
regale vs regal
Regal means like a king or queen. Regale means to entertain with stories, and is pronounced with a long a sound at the end.
regale vs relegate
Relegate means to move to a lower position, which has nothing to do with entertaining people.
Practice
At dinner, my uncle likes to ___ everyone with stories from his years at sea.
Choose one answer.
Regale someone with stories means to entertain them with lively storytelling. Relegate, regret and regard do not take the pattern 'with stories'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “regale”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.