What does "charivari" mean?

The noisy banging of pots and pans as a mock serenade to a newly married couple, or similar occasion.

What is a synonym for "charivari"?

Common synonyms include: shivaree, bedlam, bedlam let loose, belling, blast, bobbery.

Pronounced //ʃɑːɹɪˈvɑːɹi//.

//ʃɑːɹɪˈvɑːɹi// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The noisy banging of pots and pans as a mock serenade to a newly married couple, or similar occasion. countable, uncountable
"The marriage ceremony was given primordial significance over folkloric pre-marriage engagement rituals and wild charivaris."
2
a noisy mock serenade (made by banging pans and kettles) to a newly married couple wordnet
3
Any loud, cacophonous noise or hubbub. broadly, countable, uncountable

"The marriage ceremony was given primordial significance over folkloric pre-marriage engagement rituals and wild charivaris."

From French charivari.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.