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happy

2 syllables · also happier, happiest
Quick answer

As an adjective, happy means having a feeling arising from a consciousness of well-being or of enjoyment. As a verb, it means often followed by up: to become happy.

Meanings of happy

13 meanings

adjective

  1. Having a feeling arising from a consciousness of well-being or of enjoyment; enjoying good of any kind, such as comfort, peace, or tranquillity; blissful, contented, joyous.

    “Music makes me feel happy.”

  2. Experiencing the effect of favourable fortune; favored by fortune or luck; fortunate, lucky, propitious.

  3. Content, willing, satisfied (with or to do something); having no objection (to something).

    “Are you happy to pay me back by the end of the week?”

    “Yes, I am happy with the decision.”

  4. of actsspeechetc.Appropriate, apt, felicitous.

    “a happy coincidence”

  5. in combinationFavoring or inclined to use.

    “slaphappy, trigger-happy”

  6. Implying 'May you have a happy ~' or similar; used in phrases to wish someone happiness or good fortune at the time of a festival, celebration, or other event or activity.

    “Happy birthday!, Happy Fourth of July!, Happy anniversary!, Happy job-hunting!”

  7. Enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure

    “a happy smile”

    “spent many happy days on the beach”

    “a happy marriage”

  8. Eagerly disposed to act or to be of service

    “glad to help”

    Similar: glad
  9. Well expressed and to the point

    “a happy turn of phrase”

    “a few well-chosen words”

    Similar: well-chosen
Older and rare meanings (1)
  1. rareof peopleoften followed by "at""in"Dexterous, ready, skilful.

noun

  1. informalrareA happy event, thing, person, etc.

verb

  1. informalOften followed by up: to become happy; to brighten up, to cheer up.

  2. informalOften followed by up: to make happy; to brighten, to cheer, to enliven.

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).

Synonyms by meaning

adjective: marked by good fortune
adjective: eagerly disposed to act or to be of service
adjective: well expressed and to the point
well-chosen
Oppositesunhappy

Words that rhyme with happy

For word games

h4
a1
p3
p3
y4
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