happy

Formshappies, happying, happied

Pluralhappies

1. 1
   gladadjective

   Feeling or showing pleasure, contentment and a sense of well-being; also, of a time, event or relationship, marked by such feeling, as in a happy childhood.

   He was deeply happy in his new home, surrounded by people he loved.

   A warm meal and good company left everyone feeling happy that evening.

   UsageSay happy for a person who has good news, and happy about a thing. The usual comparative is happier and superlative happiest.

   Similarglad, cheerful, joyful, content, delighted

   Oppositesad, unhappy, depressed, miserable

   Note

   The emotional core of the word has long carried solemn weight. The King James Bible of 1611 puts the adjective first for emphasis: "Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord." It compares both ways, as happier or more happy and happiest or most happy. Thomas Bayes in 1731 writes of "the most happy universe," and the longer forms still lend a measured, formal tone. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quoted wording occurs in the King James Bible, in Psalm 144:15. en.wikisource.org
   • Thomas Bayes published the work containing the quotation in 1731. www2.isye.gatech.edu
   • Bayes used the wording “the most happy universe” in Divine Benevolence. georgemaciunas.com
2. 2
   willingadjective

   Content or willing to do something, with no objection to it.

   We're happy to answer any questions you might have about the order.

   He said he was perfectly happy with the new schedule.

   UsageTakes to plus a verb (happy to help) or with plus a noun (happy with the schedule).

   Similarpleased

   Oppositedissatisfied, disenchanted

   Note

   Here the word signals consent rather than joy, and it takes two constructions: happy to plus a verb (happy to pay you back) and happy with plus a noun (happy with the decision). Chemists stretch it even to molecules. Iver David Reingold's Organic Chemistry describes a conjugate base as "quite happy with the excess electrons," meaning stable and content to stay as it is. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • 2007 dates the cited Delhi edition, not the work's first publication. An earlier edition is documented as 2002. The first-edition title page could not be inspected, so the fix omits the date. sta.uwi.edu
   • Iver David Reingold's Organic Chemistry describes a conjugate base using the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   in greetingsadjective

   Used in set greetings to wish someone happiness or good fortune at a festival, celebration, or other event.

   Happy anniversary to a couple who still make each other laugh.

   She sent a card reading "Happy retirement" to her old boss.

   UsageFollowed by the occasion, with no verb: Happy birthday!, Happy New Year! For shared holidays, people often reply You too!

   Note

   This is a greeting formula with the verb left out: Happy birthday! is short for "May you have a happy birthday." The frame is open-ended. It covers festivals and anniversaries (Happy Fourth of July!) and stretches to ordinary undertakings, as in Happy job-hunting!, where the good wishes attach to an activity rather than a day. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

   • Happy birthday! expresses an elliptical wish equivalent to May you have a happy birthday. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   luckyadjective

   Fortunate or lucky; brought about by favorable chance.

   A happy coincidence brought the two old friends to the same café.

   The recipe turned out to be a happy accident, born of a missing ingredient.

   UsageMostly in pairings with chance events: a happy accident, a happy coincidence.

   Similarlucky, fortunate, fortuitous, propitious, providential

   Oppositeunlucky, unfortunate, unpropitious

   Note

   This sense stays closest to the word's roots. Hap is chance or luck, and happy seems to have been read as hap plus -y, perhaps influenced by Old Norse heppinn, "fortunate." Robert Boyle's The Sceptical Chymist (1661) calls chemists "more happy in finding Experiments than the Causes of them," meaning lucky, not glad. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

   • The fortunate or lucky sense reflects the word's historical roots. en.wiktionary.org
   • Hap means chance or luck. en.wiktionary.org
   • Happy may have been assimilated to hap plus -y. en.wiktionary.org
   • Happy may be related to Old Norse heppinn, meaning fortunate. en.wiktionary.org
   • Robert Boyle wrote The Sceptical Chymist, first published in 1661. gutenberg.org
   • The quoted wording occurs in Boyle's book, in the dialogue spoken by Carneades. gutenberg.org
   • Happy in this quotation means fortunate or lucky. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   verbcolloquialtransitive

   To make someone or something happier or brighter, or to become so, often with up.

   She tried to happy up her friend with a big bunch of flowers.

   A funny movie can happy up even the dullest evening.

   UsageCan take an object before or after up: happy someone up, happy up the place. Playful in tone.

   Similarcheer, brighten, liven

   Oppositesadden

   Note

   Usually someone or something does the cheering, like the dancers "happying up the place" in Mireille Juchau's Burning In (2007). It can even be reflexive. Nickolas Martin's Ego Therapy (2015) describes people "happying" themselves through the habits they choose. Happify does the same job. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • Mireille Juchau wrote Burning In, published in 2007. giramondopublishing.com
   • Burning In describes dancers as "happying up the place". en.wiktionary.org
   • Nickolas Martin wrote Ego Therapy, published in 2015. balboapress.com
   • Ego Therapy describes people "happying" themselves by choosing behaviors that make them happy. en.wiktionary.org

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