- happy and cheerful synonym cheery
- a merry grin
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc1- A merry crowd of villagers watched the proceedings.
- HIs face was round and his eyes were merry.
- Merry Christmasused at Christmas to say that you hope that somebody has a pleasant holiday
- (especially British English, informal) slightly drunk synonym tipsy
- I was merry after only a glass of champagne.
- We had a few drinks and all got quite merry.
Word OriginOld English myrige ‘pleasing, delightful’, of Germanic origin; related to mirth.
Idioms
See merry in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryeat, drink and be merry
- (saying) said to encourage somebody to enjoy life now, while they can, and not to think of the future
lead somebody a (merry) dance
- (British English, informal) to cause somebody a lot of trouble or worry
make merry
- (old-fashioned) to enjoy yourself by singing, laughing, drinking, etc.
the more the merrier
- (saying) the more people or things there are, the better the situation will be or the more fun people will have
- ‘Can I bring a friend to your party?’ ‘Sure—the more the merrier!’
play (merry) hell with something/somebody
- (British English, informal) to affect something/somebody badly
- Driving on these rough roads has played hell with my tyres.
Check pronunciation:
merry