jelly

noun

(Commonwealth) A dessert made by boiling gelatine (or a plant-based alternative such as agar or carrageenan), sugar and some flavouring (often derived from fruit) and allowing it to set.

(chiefly Canada, US) A clear or translucent fruit preserve, made from fruit juice and set using either naturally occurring, or added, pectin.

A savoury substance, derived from meat, that has the same texture as the dessert.

Any substance or object having the consistency of the dessert or preserve.

(zoology) A jellyfish.

(US, slang) A large backside, especially a woman's.

(colloquial) A jelly shoe.

(colloquial, US) Blood.

(India) Vitrified brick refuse used as metal in building roads.

(colloquial) Clipping of gelignite. [An explosive mixture of nitroglycerine and nitrate absorbed onto a base of wood pulp.]

(Caribbean, Jamaica) Clipping of jelly coconut. [A coconut with soft or gelatinous meat inside as well as the meat itself (which is of regular quality if the coconut is immature)]

(slang, now rare) A pretty girl; a girlfriend.

verb

(transitive) To make into jelly.

(transitive) To preserve in jelly.

To wiggle like jelly.

adjective

(slang) Jealous.

Roots

gelojell- · Latin · freeze, congeal

Synonyms for jelly

jellifyv gelatinn gelatinatev confituren marmaladen jellv jamn puddingn syrupn blancmangen compoten geln moussen

Synonyms & related words for jelly

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of jelly — including jellify, gelatin, gelatinate, confiture, marmalade, jell. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to jelly

Explore words related to jelly — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include jellylike, gelatinoid, jellybeans, aspic, gelatinous, custard, gummy, jellyroll. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for jelly

Common synonyms for jelly include jellify, gelatin, gelatinate, confiture, marmalade, jell, jam, pudding — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does jelly come from?

The word jelly breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root jell-, from Latin gelo (“freeze, congeal”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.