droll 1 of 2

adjective

ˈdrōl How to pronounce droll (audio)
Definition of drollnext
as in humorous
causing or intended to cause laughter made a droll comment about the commencement speaker's penchant for clichés

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

droll

2 of 2

noun

as in comedian
a person (as a writer) noted for or specializing in humor the drolls of late-night TV had a field day with that senator's sexual shenanigans

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of droll
Adjective
In its absence, this category is open for business, with Rhys, so good at shifting between his show’s droll humor and genuine terror, an obvious choice. — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026 There’s a dry, droll seam of generation-gap humor in George’s continued, failed attempts to insert himself as a father figure into the life of someone who never asked for one, and Zeke’s blankly bemused resistance to his efforts. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 June 2026 Zelensky then issued a magnanimous, droll decree, formally granting Putin permission to hold the parade. — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026 Zendaya’s Rue works as a drug mule for the forever droll Laurie (the great Martha Kelly). — Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for droll
Recent Examples of Synonyms for droll
  1. humorous
  2. comedian
  3. comedic
  4. funny
  5. amusing
  6. comical
  7. comic
  8. entertaining
Adjective
  • Silvestri used a large orchestra to create a score that played the heist completely straight, despite its humorous premise.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Pledging love and respecting someone or a relationship can make people feel so uncomfortable that leaning into these tropes of life can feel humorous, and that’s where the laughs from a Hallmark film come from.
    — Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of humorous
Noun
  • But while many comedians go on to have wildly lucrative careers, that doesn’t seem to be Earthquake’s priority — making people laugh is.
    — Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Anyone with a console can watch it, which enticed the comedian.
    — Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of comedian
Adjective
  • Directed by Shen Chunyang and written by Ma Duo, the satirical family feature stars real-life comedic couple Shen Chunyang and Xiao Shenyang alongside Jia Bing and Yu Yang.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Artificial is pointedly funnier than his other work, including a large comedic performance by Ike Barinholtz as Musk, even as an existential dread permeates.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of comedic
Adjective
  • And Widow’s Bay was, of course, very successful at alternating between scary and funny bits.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Ashton was charming, funny, ridiculously handsome, and fascinated by all things tech.
    — Chuck Lorre, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of funny
Adjective
  • Soon, though, Sutskever also catches the eye of Altman and his partner Elon Musk (an amusing Ike Barinholtz, nailing him).
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
  • There's a tricky tonal balance in treating the lawyers' gasp-inducing ruthlessness as entertaining and even amusing while also allowing its consequences to be clear.
    — Linda Holmes, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of amusing
Adjective
  • Here, visitors make their way through an exhibition featuring waif Alberto Giacometti sculptures, a room full of Picassos, Fischli/Weiss’s comical sculpture Animal (1986), and more.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • With Apatow at the helm, the chat took some comical turns, as might be expected, and also some unusually revealing ones, as Apatow getting McCartney to loosen up provided some real personal asides as well as screwball dialogue.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of comical
Adjective
  • Through much of the novel, Fee will attempt to make his own story one of such comic-book heroism, to take on the mantle of savior.
    — Garth Greenwell, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Sources say Rich’s script was more broadly comic than Guadagnino’s darkly funny final film.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of comic
Adjective
  • Douglas, 82, has just published an incredibly dishy, wildly entertaining, at times both hilarious and painful new memoir, One Helluva Ride.
    — Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The standout among the entertaining spaces is the baby-blue kitchen, which extends from the rear of the home into a rounded turret overlooking a ravine.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of entertaining

Browse Nearby Words

drizzly
droll
drolleries
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Cite this Entry

“Droll.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/droll. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on droll

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about droll

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