merry

[ mer-ee ]
See synonyms for merry on Thesaurus.com
adjective,mer·ri·er, mer·ri·est.
  1. full of cheerfulness or gaiety; joyous in disposition or spirit: a merry little man.

  2. laughingly happy; mirthful; festively joyous; hilarious: a merry time at the party.

  1. Archaic. causing happiness; pleasant; delightful.

Idioms about merry

  1. make merry, Older Use.

    • to be happy or festive: The New Year's revelers were making merry in the ballroom.

    • to make fun of; ridicule: The unthinking children made merry of the boy who had no shoes.

Origin of merry

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English meri(e),myrie, murie, Old English myr(i)ge, mer(i)ge “pleasant, delightful”

pronunciation note For merry

See Mary.

Other words for merry

Opposites for merry

Other words from merry

  • mer·ri·ly, adverb
  • mer·ri·ness, noun
  • o·ver·mer·ri·ly, adverb
  • o·ver·mer·ri·ness, noun
  • o·ver·mer·ry, adjective
  • un·mer·ri·ly, adverb
  • un·mer·ry, adjective

Words Nearby merry

Other definitions for Merry (2 of 2)

Merry
[ mer-ee ]

noun
  1. a female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use merry in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for merry

merry

/ (ˈmɛrɪ) /


adjective-rier or -riest
  1. cheerful; jolly

  2. very funny; hilarious

  1. British informal slightly drunk

  2. archaic delightful

  3. make merry to revel; be festive

  4. play merry hell with informal to disturb greatly; disrupt

Origin of merry

1
Old English merige agreeable

Derived forms of merry

  • merrily, adverb
  • merriness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012