carol
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To sing in a joyful way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
karuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkæɹəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
intransitive
To sing carols; especially to sing Christmas carols in a group.
“They went caroling on Christmas Day.”
intransitive
To sing in a joyful manner.
transitive
To sing (a song) cheerfully.
transitive
To praise or celebrate in song.
noun
specifically
Joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
specifically
A (usually traditional) religious or secular song sung at Christmastime.
A ballad or song of joy.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To sing carols; especially to sing Christmas carols in a group.
Used this way, carol is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“They went caroling on Christmas Day.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “carol on …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- wassail , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: carol on …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use carol
- “They went caroling on Christmas Day.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.