convivial
adjective
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Convivial is a cheerful word that typically suggests a mood of full-bellied delight in good food, good drink, and good company, which Charles Dickens aptly captures in his novel David Copperfield: "We had a beautiful little dinner. Quite an elegant dish of fish; the kidney-end of a loin of veal, roasted; fried sausage-meat; a partridge, and a pudding. There was wine, and there was strong ale. ... Mr. Micawber was uncommonly convivial. I never saw him such good company. He made his face shine with the punch, so that it looked as if it had been varnished all over. He got cheerfully sentimental about the town, and proposed success to it." Convivial traces back to the Latin word convivium, meaning "banquet," which in turn comes from the verb vivere, meaning "to live." The word is in good company, as vivere has breathed plenty of life into the English language; other common descendants include survive, revive, vivid, and vivacious.
Examples of convivial in a Sentence
Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 24 July 2025
Barceló conveys that truth by keeping the focus on Gaia at her most private moments — group therapy sessions and court proceedings are kept strenuously off-screen — or in one-to-one dialogue scenes that range from openly confessional to confrontational to, on rare occasions, fleetingly convivial.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 10 July 2025
Ordinarily, the first day of pre-season is one of the more convivial dates in a footballer’s calendar — a day to reacquaint with old friends and swap summer holiday stories.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 6 July 2025
Indoor concerts during daylight hours can feel uncanny, maybe more so on a holy day—the doors opened at 2 P.M., and someone, possibly Callahan, had nestled colored plastic eggs amid the rows of folding chairs—but the vibe in the room was convivial, loose.
—Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for convivial
Cite this Entry
“Convivial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convivial. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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