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Meaning of DROLL

Pronunciation:  drowl

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: [adj]  comical in an odd or whimsical manner; "a droll little man with a quiet tongue-in-cheek kind of humor"
 
 Websites: 
 
 Synonyms: humorous, humourous
 

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. \Droll\, a. [Compar. {Droller}; superl. {Drollest}.] [F.
    dr[^o]le; cf. G. & D. drollig, LG. drullig, D. drol a thick
    and short person, a droll, Sw. troll a magical appearance,
    demon, trolla to use magic arts, enchant, Dan. trold elf,
    imp, Icel. tr["o]ll giant, magician, evil spirit, monster. If
    this is the origin, cf. {Trull}.]
    Queer, and fitted to provoke laughter; ludicrous from oddity;
    amusing and strange.
    Syn: Comic; comical; farcical; diverting; humorous;
         ridiculous; queer; odd; waggish; facetious; merry;
         laughable; ludicrous. -- {Droll}, {Laughable},
         {Comical}. Laughable is the generic term, denoting
         anything exciting laughter or worthy of laughter;
         comical denotes something of the kind exhibited in
         comedies, something humorous of the kind exhibited in
         comedies, something, as it were, dramatically humorous;
         droll stands lower on the scale, having reference to
         persons or things which excite laughter by their
         buffoonery or oddity. A laughable incident; a comical
         adventure; a droll story.
    
  2. \Droll\, n.
    1. One whose practice it is to raise mirth by odd tricks; a
       jester; a buffoon; a merry-andrew. --Prior.
    2. Something exhibited to raise mirth or sport, as a puppet,
       a farce, and the like.
    
  3. \Droll\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Drolled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
    {Drolling}.]
    To jest; to play the buffoon. [R.]
    
  4. \Droll\, v. t.
    1. To lead or influence by jest or trick; to banter or jest;
       to cajole.
             Men that will not be reasoned into their senses, may
             yet be laughed or drolled into them.  --L'Estrange.
    2. To make a jest of; to set in a comical light. [R.]
             This drolling everything is rather fatiguing. -- W.
                                                   D. Howells.
    
 
Thesaurus Terms
 
 Related Terms: absurd, amusing, Attic, biting, bizarre, brilliant, clever, comedian, comic, comical, eccentric, facetious, farcical, funny, funnyman, hilarious, humorous, humorsome, incongruous, jester, jesting, jocose, jocular, joker, jokester, joking, joky, joshing, keen, keen-witted, laughable, ludicrous, mordant, nimble-witted, pointed, preposterous, priceless, pungent, quaint, quick-witted, quipster, quizzical, rapier-like, rich, ridiculous, risible, salt, salty, scintillating, screaming, sharp, smart, sparkling, sprightly, wag, whimsical, wit, witty
 

 

 

 

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