gaiety
noun
gai·ety ˈgā-ə-tē 
variants or less commonly gayety
plural gaieties
1
: merrymaking
also : festive activity —often used in plural
2
: high spirits : merriment
3
: elegance, finery
Synonyms
- array
- best
- bravery
- caparison
- feather
- finery
- frippery
- full dress
- glad rags
- regalia
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The party had none of the gaiety we've seen in past years. the gaiety of the carnival
Recent Examples on the Web In spite of the temperature, a festal gaiety was rising. 
Kent Russell, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 His tall, broad-shouldered hunchback stomps around the court in the multi-colored motley teasing his master and his henchmen with seeming good-natured gaiety. Bill Hirschman, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Mar. 2022 Television put her very American appeal on full display: her charm, her gaiety. Mayukh Sen, The Atlantic, 16 Nov. 2021 There is no place, not even India, where the use of color produces as beguiling a mixture of gaiety and melancholy as Mexico. New York Times, 11 Nov. 2021 There is something heroic in the desperate gaiety with which Crane and Cora insisted on living well until the end. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2021 Yes, an adornment to society, a man who added to the gaiety of life. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 26 July 2021 Its unique note is the simultaneous striking of many notes; of humility, of gaiety, of gratitude, of mystical fear, but also of vigilance and of drama. Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 25 Dec. 2020 These same two items—Cary Grant’s cheapness and his gaiety—play throughout Mr. Eyman’s lengthy biography. Joseph Epstein, WSJ, 16 Oct. 2020 See More
Kent Russell, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 His tall, broad-shouldered hunchback stomps around the court in the multi-colored motley teasing his master and his henchmen with seeming good-natured gaiety. Bill Hirschman, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Mar. 2022 Television put her very American appeal on full display: her charm, her gaiety. Mayukh Sen, The Atlantic, 16 Nov. 2021 There is no place, not even India, where the use of color produces as beguiling a mixture of gaiety and melancholy as Mexico. New York Times, 11 Nov. 2021 There is something heroic in the desperate gaiety with which Crane and Cora insisted on living well until the end. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2021 Yes, an adornment to society, a man who added to the gaiety of life. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 26 July 2021 Its unique note is the simultaneous striking of many notes; of humility, of gaiety, of gratitude, of mystical fear, but also of vigilance and of drama. Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 25 Dec. 2020 These same two items—Cary Grant’s cheapness and his gaiety—play throughout Mr. Eyman’s lengthy biography. Joseph Epstein, WSJ, 16 Oct. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
earlier, "cheerfulness," borrowed from Middle French gayeté, going back to Old French, from gai gay entry 1 + -eté -ity
First Known Use
1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
gaiety
noun
gai·ety
ˈgā-ə-tē
plural gaieties
1
: happy and lively activity : merrymaking
There were sounds of gaiety outside, musical instruments, and noisy tongues, and laughter. Charles Dickens, The Cricket on the Hearth
Charles Dickens, The Cricket on the Hearth2
: bright spirits or manner
The bad news ended their gaiety.
gaiety
noun
variants also gayety
1
as in attire
dressy clothing attendees of the masquerade ball arrived dressed in all their gaiety Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- attire
- finery
- costume
- frippery
- bravery
- apparel
- regalia
- best
- feather
- full dress
- caparison
- glad rags
- toggery
- array
- best bib and tucker
- raiment
- vesture
- wear
- rags
- threads
- rigging
- duds
- togs
- vestiary
- habiliment(s)
- rig
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- disarray
- tatters
- dishabille
2
as in festivity
joyful or festive activity loved the gaiety of the annual harvest festival the gaiety of the wedding reception Synonyms & Similar Words
- festivity
- jollity
- merriment
- merrymaking
- celebration
- revelry
- jollification
- festival
- carnival
- reveling
- conviviality
- cheerfulness
- rejoicing
- diversion
- revelling
- joy
- mirth
- joviality
- recreation
- enjoyment
- whoopee
- merriness
- entertainment
- mirthfulness
- fun
- delight
- glee
- cheeriness
- hilarity
- pleasure
- carousal
- carouse
- riot
- frivolity
- revel
- mischief
- happiness
- playfulness
- levity
- funning
- lightheartedness
- jocularity
- gleefulness
- cheer
- rollicking
- flippancy
- joking
- party
- buffoonery
- jesting
- zaniness
- frolicking
- gamboling
- clownishness
- romping
- lark
- rollick
- frolic
- gambol
- romp
- gambolling
- joshing
- spree
- fling
- clownery
- binge
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- misery
- grief
- gloom
- mourning
- darkness
- gloominess
- woe
- wretchedness
- blackness
- heartache
- heartbreak
- sorrow
- melancholy
- mournfulness
- glumness
- unhappiness
- dejection
- dolor
- heartsickness
- miserableness
- depression
- despondency
- dolefulness
- dumps
- joylessness
- doldrums
- forlornness
- despondence
- downheartedness
- disconsolateness
- dispiritedness
3
as in cheerfulness
a mood characterized by high spirits and amusement and often accompanied by laughter the gaiety of children enjoying an outing at an amusement park Synonyms & Similar Words
- cheerfulness
- glee
- festivity
- mirth
- merriness
- joviality
- merriment
- cheer
- joyfulness
- mirthfulness
- cheeriness
- hilarity
- brightness
- humor
- playfulness
- frivolity
- gayness
- joking
- gleefulness
- jollity
- levity
- funning
- animation
- reveling
- giddiness
- revelry
- vivacity
- revelling
- joyousness
- jollification
- lightheartedness
- jocularity
- buoyancy
- insouciance
- liveliness
- sportiveness
- jocundity
- jauntiness
- jocosity
- flippancy
- sunniness
- jubilance
- buffoonery
- jesting
- rejoicing
- clownishness
- perkiness
- rollicking
- good-naturedness
- joshing
- frolicking
- jocoseness
- good-humoredness
- gamboling
- romping
- gamesomeness
- gambolling
- jest
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- sorrow
- sadness
- melancholy
- dejection
- unhappiness
- solemnity
- earnestness
- gloom
- forlornness
- depression
- seriousness
- blues
- gravity
- grimness
- despondence
- soberness
- spleen
- sourness
- discontent
- bile
- mournfulness
- solemnness
- plaintiveness
- joylessness
- woe
- moodiness
- gloominess
- darkness
- glumness
- graveness
- disgruntlement
- misery
- blackness
- mourning
- desolation
- wretchedness
- desolateness
- heartbreak
- sobersidedness
- woefulness
- dolefulness
- dolorousness
- miserableness