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
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And beyond the viral jokes littering Palmer’s comments are thousands of seemingly serious comments calling her video just an example of how leaning into feminine roles can be self care.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 July 2025
-
The jokes about alligators attacking immigrants while in detention have been casually tossed around by President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and conservative and far-right influencers.—
Raisa Habersham,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
Clarkson delivered with her trademark blend of down-to-Earth humor and out-of-this-world vocals.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
-
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
Noun
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During the day out, the two took a dip in the pool and appeared to share laughs throughout the day.—
Starr Bowenbank,
People.com,
11 July 2025
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The two had several tough plays against one another, and shared plenty of laughs on the court.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
11 July 2025
Noun
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The irony of a post-George W. Bush government possibly recognizing this despite also being inclined to sleepwalk into a disastrous Middle East war is strange and potent.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
10 July 2025
-
Then, in one of football’s crueler ironies, the very first fall after he gets cut, the Broncos go 10-7 and snap that postseason curse like an old branch.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
10 July 2025
Noun
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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
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Appearances by Amy Poehler, Will Arnett and Craig T. Nelson allow Blades of Glory to thrive like few 2000s comedies could.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
4 July 2025
-
Gale and Zemeckis were nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the film — a win in itself considering how popular sci-fi and comedy are both usually ignored by the Academy.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
4 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drollery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drollery. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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