joy
1 Americannoun
-
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.
She felt the joy of seeing her son's success.
- Synonyms:
- rapture
- Antonyms:
- grief, sorrow, unhappiness, misery
-
a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
Her prose style is a pure joy.
-
the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
-
a state of happiness or felicity.
- Synonyms:
- bliss
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
-
a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment
-
something causing such a feeling; a source of happiness
-
an outward show of pleasure or delight; rejoicing
-
informal success; satisfaction
I went to the bank for a loan, but got no joy
verb
-
(intr) to feel joy
-
obsolete (tr) to make joyful; gladden
Related Words
See pleasure.
Other Word Forms
- unjoyed adjective
Etymology
Origin of joy
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English joy(e), from Old French joie, joye, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium “joy,” equivalent to gaud- (base of gaudēre “to be glad”) + -ium -ium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He described the "mixed feelings" that overwhelmed him when he arrived home in December -- the joy of returning, swiftly eclipsed by grief at his mother's death.
From Barron's
“I had a hard time dipping back into the joy of eating because it felt like I didn’t deserve it,” she said.
Saying the show was built on “one thing, joy,” Shepherd declared that she and her team weren’t ready to give up on keeping the show alive in some form.
From Los Angeles Times
She described him as "a joy to work with" and a "lovely man".
From BBC
I jog the final few yards to where Emma is gazing at Lily whooping with joy inside the castle.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
