jelly

noun
jel·​ly | \ ˈje-lē How to pronounce jelly (audio) \
plural jellies

Definition of jelly

 (Entry 1 of 3)

1 : a soft somewhat elastic food product made usually with gelatin or pectin especially : a fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit
2 : a substance resembling jelly in consistency
3 : jellyfish
4 : a state of fear or irresolution
5 : a shapeless structureless mass : pulp

jelly

verb
jellied; jellying

Definition of jelly (Entry 2 of 3)

intransitive verb

1 : jell
2 : to make jelly

transitive verb

: to bring to the consistency of jelly

jelly

adjective

Definition of jelly (Entry 3 of 3)

slang
: jealous "I'm jelly," declared Jon Osborne of Pardi's white, sparkly jacket, complete with flowers …— Taylor Weatherby

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Other Words from jelly

Noun

jellylike \ ˈjē-​lē-​ˌlīk How to pronounce jellylike (audio) \ adjective

Synonyms for jelly

Synonyms: Verb

clot, coagulate, congeal, gel, gelate, gelatinize, jell, set

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Examples of jelly in a Sentence

Noun

a selection of different jellies and jams He spread some jelly on his toast. a jar of grape jelly a peanut butter and jelly sandwich a meat glaze made with stock and jelly

Verb

this fruit juice is taking longer to jelly than I expected
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Dietary staples that don’t need much temperature like peanut butter, jelly, and hard cheddars will work well. James Lynch, Popular Mechanics, "How To Eat Well on Your Next Backpacking Trip," 7 Sep. 2019 The lights were still off in the retail space, but the air was already humid and smelling strongly of the fresh herbal jelly (leung fan) that Mr. Eng and his brother David were boiling in the back. Aaron Reiss, New York Times, "The Heir to a Tofu Dynasty Finally Learns to Make Tofu," 3 Sep. 2019 Scooptopia’s halo-halo comes layered with jellies, purple yam ice cream and topped with flan. Priscilla Totiyapungprasert, azcentral, "Pizza, poke and steak: These 12 restaurants opened in metro Phoenix in August," 2 Sep. 2019 Peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, ham and cheese — some things just belong together. Hannah Chubb, PEOPLE.com, "Chocolate-Covered Oreos Stuffed with Pickles Are Now Being Sold," 16 Aug. 2019 Add on grass jelly, boba, aloe vera or custard pudding for 55 cents. Jessica Yadegaran, The Mercury News, "3 awesome new Bay Area tea houses," 12 Aug. 2019 Unfortunately for Kulick, sago jelly, a delicacy the villagers proudly prepare for him, reminds him of phlegm flavored with furniture polish. Lucinda Robb, Washington Post, "As a language dies, who will mourn? Should anyone?," 9 Aug. 2019 Foods to keep Condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, jelly, jams, soy sauce and bottled marinade. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, "Power out? Here's what to do with refrigerated and frozen foods," 22 July 2019 Other highlights include strawberries, onions, green beans, broccoli, snow apple turnips and radishes, along with jams, jellies, pickles and Alaska seafood. Steve Edwards, Anchorage Daily News, "Alaska’s heat wave has supercharged summer vegetable crops," 11 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The depths are a swirl of tapioca, agar-agar and basil seeds like a hundred tiny eyes, jellied on the outside with a crunch within. Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, "Burmese Cuisine, a New York Rarity, at Rangoon Spoon," 24 May 2018 From here, the longest run in the region is a leg-jellying 15 kilometer, 2,000-meter descent back down to Gaislachkogl. CNN, "Solden: The ski resort with a James Bond museum," 26 Oct. 2017 And according to TMZ, Miller will be noshing this first week on jellied toast for breakfast, hamburgers and fruit for lunch, sandwiches and wraps for dinner, and weekend meals of sloppy Joes and tacos. Diana Pearl, PEOPLE.com, "Dance Moms' Abby Lee Miller Goes to Prison: Inside the Place She Could Spend the Next 366 Days," 12 July 2017 Meanwhile their neighbors engaged in a range of menial tasks, including gluing together matchbooks by hand and selling vintage snacks (jellied eel, anyone?) from street carts. Meredith Blake, latimes.com, "Little food, no showers, but at least no one had cholera: what it was like to star in 'Victorian Slum House'," 15 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jelly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of jelly

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Adjective

1931, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for jelly

Noun

Middle English gelly, from Anglo-French gelee, from feminine of gelé, past participle of geler to freeze, congeal, from Latin gelare — more at cold

Adjective

jeal(ous) + -y entry 1

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More Definitions for jelly

jelly

noun

English Language Learners Definition of jelly

: a sweet and soft food made by boiling sugar and fruit juice until it is thick
British : a fruit-flavored dessert made with gelatin
old-fashioned : a food made from meat juices and gelatin

jelly

noun
jel·​ly | \ ˈje-lē How to pronounce jelly (audio) \
plural jellies

Kids Definition of jelly