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happy

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adjective

/ˈhæpi/

adjective	happy
comparative	happier
superlative	happiest

Other entries for this word

1
feeling pleased and satisfied
The children seem very happy at school.
Sarah felt happy for the first time in her life.
happy doing something:
So you're happy living in Baltimore?
happy about:
Anna was excited and happy about the baby.
make someone happy:
Money alone will never make you happy.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of happy
1. a.
  used about enjoyable times, events, experiences, etc. that make people feel happy
  We wish him a very happy retirement.
  a happy marriage/childhood/life
  a happy ending:
  I like a movie that has a happy ending!
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of happy
Collocations: happy
Collocations
happy1
▪ blissfully, completely, deliriously, extremely, perfectly, really, truly, very
2
satisfied that something is good or right, and therefore not worried about it
happy with:
Are you happy with this arrangement?
happy about:
I'm not very happy about the children being out so late.
happy that:
Happy that everything had been finalized, we left.
happy to do something:
Her parents were happy to know she'd got a good job.
keep someone happy:
Rising profits is the only news that keeps the bosses happy.
reasonably/perfectly happy:
Most people were perfectly happy with the decision.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of happy

phrases

be happy for someone
to be pleased because something good has happened to someone else
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of happy
be happy to do something
if you are happy to do something, you are very willing to do it
I'm happy to do some of the cooking.
more than happy (=very willing):
I'd be more than happy to help.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of happy
Happy Birthday/Easter/Anniversary
used as a greeting on a particular occasion
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of happy

Get It Right!: happy

Get it right: happy

Although the adjective happy ends in the letter "y," the related noun happiness is spelled with an "i" (not a "y"):

✗ Health, love, and happyness are what everyone looks for in their life.

✓ Health, love, and happiness are what everyone looks for in their life.

For most other adjectives ending in "y," the same rule applies:

adjective	related noun
empty	emptiness
lazy	laziness
lonely	loneliness
tidy	tidiness
ugly	ugliness

Metaphor: happy

Metaphor

Feeling happy and hopeful is like being high up or like moving upward. Feeling sad and unhappy is like being low down or like falling.

The news lifted her spirits.
Things are looking up.
Cheer up!
My spirits rose when I got her letter.
I've been walking/floating on air ever since.
She's on top of the world/on cloud nine.
I was in seventh heaven.
I feel really down/low about it all.
He's in very low spirits.
He's in the depths of despair.
My heart sank when I saw him.
They looked very down in the mouth/down in the dumps.

Happiness and hope are like bright light or bright colors. Sadness and lack of hope are like darkness or dark colors.

The future looks very bright/rosy. ♦ She brightened up when she heard the news. ♦ His face lit up when he saw them. ♦ They had shining eyes and beaming/dazzling smiles. ♦ The bride looked radiant. ♦ You have to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. ♦ He was in a black mood. ♦ I was feeling blue. ♦ There's no point in having these dark thoughts. ♦ His face darkened. ♦ They led a gray empty existence. ♦ I'm afraid the outlook is very gloomy/bleak/dismal. ♦ The news cast a shadow over the evening.

This is the American English definition of happy. View British English definition of happy.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

View the pronunciation for happy.

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