1
as in joke
something said or done to cause laughter
the film's sophisticated drolleries will elicit smiles and chuckles even upon repeated viewings
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2
as in humor
the amusing quality or element in something
though generally serious, the novel about a seriously dysfunctional family is not without drollery
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Recent Examples of drollery
He is played by Ethan Hawke, a mainstay of Linklater’s movies, in a remarkable amalgam of bitterness, exuberance, drollery, tenderness, frustration, and tremendous artistic passion.
—
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Matthew Rankin’s latest surreal comedy, between hilarious drollery and bitter disillusionment.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 18 Dec. 2024
He is played by Ethan Hawke, a mainstay of Linklater’s movies, in a remarkable amalgam of bitterness, exuberance, drollery, tenderness, frustration, and tremendous artistic passion.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Matthew Rankin’s latest surreal comedy, between hilarious drollery and bitter disillusionment.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 18 Dec. 2024
His ambition and synthetic public persona are the butt of countless withering drolleries.
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Griffin’s front-court mate DeAndre Jordan, although deeply intense, mirrored Griffin’s drollery in candid postgame interviews.
—Hanif Abdurraqib, The New Yorker, 3 July 2024
But his method is mostly charging into the fray, shouting battle cries or tossing out Australian drollery.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 May 2024
The starry cast runs full force with his nesting-doll plots and deadpan drolleries, the color palette comes saturated in a Pantone riot of blues, pinks and egg-yolk yellows, and the tone flips nimbly from tender to absurd, more Dahl sweetness than arsenic.
—Leah Greenblatt, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Matthew Rankin’s latest surreal comedy, between hilarious drollery and bitter disillusionment.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 18 Dec. 2024
He is played by Ethan Hawke, a mainstay of Linklater’s movies, in a remarkable amalgam of bitterness, exuberance, drollery, tenderness, frustration, and tremendous artistic passion.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Matthew Rankin’s latest surreal comedy, between hilarious drollery and bitter disillusionment.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 18 Dec. 2024
His ambition and synthetic public persona are the butt of countless withering drolleries.
—Giles Harvey, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024
Griffin’s front-court mate DeAndre Jordan, although deeply intense, mirrored Griffin’s drollery in candid postgame interviews.
—Hanif Abdurraqib, The New Yorker, 3 July 2024
But his method is mostly charging into the fray, shouting battle cries or tossing out Australian drollery.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 May 2024
The starry cast runs full force with his nesting-doll plots and deadpan drolleries, the color palette comes saturated in a Pantone riot of blues, pinks and egg-yolk yellows, and the tone flips nimbly from tender to absurd, more Dahl sweetness than arsenic.
—Leah Greenblatt, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drollery
Noun
-
Buddusky tries to fill the room with noise, jokes, bluster.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 July 2025
-
Sketching swastikas and 'edgy' jokes: Idaho shooter not typical loner Who is Wess Roley?—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
24 July 2025
Noun
-
After all the fussing and fidgeting exerted in trying to nail just the right mix of comic book action, comedy and pathos, the movie emerges as a tone-deaf mishmash of underdeveloped characters, half-baked humor and unhatched plotting drenched in CGI overkill.—
Michael Rechtshaffen,
HollywoodReporter,
12 July 2025
-
Clarkson delivered with her trademark blend of down-to-Earth humor and out-of-this-world vocals.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
Watch the scene where the three men stop at a bar in D.C. Meadows laughs for the first time — a shy, honest laugh.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 July 2025
-
Nixon’s spirit drew appreciative laughs from the crowd throughout the competition.—
Calista Oetama,
Sacbee.com,
23 July 2025
Noun
-
The ultimate irony is that these companies may have destroyed themselves while trying to preserve their market position.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 July 2025
-
The irony, though, is that Scott isn’t young anymore, either.—
Mosi Reeves,
Rolling Stone,
16 July 2025
Noun
-
Thomas Edison makes real the once fantastical notion of an entire building lit up by electricity, and Oscar Wilde charms the New York aristocracy with his witticisms, if not his plays.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
24 June 2025
-
The witticism, sometimes misattributed to James Baldwin, began to spread a few months into the coronavirus pandemic, as the shock of mass layoffs started to give way to broader dissatisfaction with work.—
Lora Kelley,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
His performance in The Studio garnered him a nod for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series.—
Julia Moore,
People.com,
15 July 2025
-
He’s also known for starring as Eric Bemis in the Netflix comedy series Santa Clarita Diet and Gideon Gemstone in the HBO show The Righteous Gemstones.—
Olivia Singh,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drollery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drollery. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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