What does jolliness mean?
Jolliness means cheerful, lively good humour, often the kind of exuberance that affects a group as well as an individual. It can describe a person's playful or high-spirited nature, but it is especially useful for an atmosphere of shared festivity, as in a party filled with music, laughter, and conversation. The word carries a warm and celebratory connotation rather than merely stating that someone is content. It appears more often in formal writing, literary descriptions, and descriptions of festive gatherings than in casual conversation, where "cheerfulness" or "merriment" may sound more natural. Although a plural, "jollinesses," is grammatically possible, the noun is normally used in the singular as a mass noun.
nounThe quality of being merry, cheerful, and lively. It refers to a state or atmosphere of exuberant good humour.
- The state or quality of being jolly, especially merry and high-spirited.
"The music and warm company filled the room with jolliness."
"Her laugh brought an instant sense of jolliness to the otherwise formal gathering."
"The children danced in the sunshine, their infectious jolliness warming the whole family."
Rare; jolliness is normally used as an uncountable mass noun.
"The evening was marked by the jollinesses of several generations gathered together."
Jolliness captures more than simple happiness: it suggests the buoyant, shared energy of people enjoying one another's company.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does jolliness come from?
Jolliness was formed in English by adding the suffix -ness to jolly, the adjective meaning merry or cheerful. The adjective jolly entered Middle English from Old French jolif, itself associated with the same family of Romance words as jocund. Jollity, jocund, and jocular preserve related forms or meanings concerned with cheerfulness and jesting.
Related word forms
How jolliness is actually used
This is a somewhat formal or literary noun, less common in everyday speech than words such as "cheerfulness" and "merriment." In the United States it is usually pronounced /ˈdʒɑːlinəs/.