droll Definition
droll (drōl)
adjective
amusing in an odd or wry way
Etymology: Fr drôle, orig. n., buffoon, jester < MDu drol, short, stout fellow, lit., bowling pin
noun
Now Rare a droll person; jester
intransitive verb
Now Rare to joke; play the jester
droll Related Forms
droll′·ness noun
drol′ly adverb
droll Synonyms
droll Usage Examples
Modifies a noun
- humor: Will always be with us with his droll humor.
- observation: Sandra's droll observations, however, consistently managed to remind us what a strange little world Brighton can sometimes be.
- sense: She was efficient and friendly, with a droll sense of humor about the world.
- wit: Nothing, it seemed, was more intriguing or worthy of their droll wit than someone else's uncomfortable but not life-threatening medical condition.
- delivery: Indeed, it was only Clive's droll delivery that kept me going.
- way: They sometimes confound quantity and numbers in a droll way, too.
Modifying Another Word
- very: Nick is very droll; he's got a very good dry sense of humor.
- wonderfully: Top marks for Biggins who makes a wonderfully droll ' Doctor ' !
- deliciously: Another deliciously droll, deadpan comic delight from Jarmusch: small, but strangely beautiful.
- really: I will try to keep this brief You know, Franz Kafka once had a really droll joke about that.
Used with adjective complement
look: They look very droll when moving, rather like what a canal barge would look like at sea with a few rolling billows about.
Browse dictionary entries near droll
- ‹ droit du seigneur
- ‹ droit
- ‹ droid
- ‹ drogue
- ‹ Drogheda
- ‹ drizzle
- ‹ driving while intoxicated
- ‹ driving wheel
- ‹ driving
- ‹ driveway

