joyful
Americanadjective
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full of joy, as a person or one's heart; glad; delighted.
- Antonyms:
- melancholy
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showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech.
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causing or bringing joy, as an event, a sight, or news; delightful.
the joyful announcement of their marriage.
adjective
-
full of joy; elated
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expressing or producing joy
a joyful look
a joyful occasion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of joyful
Explanation
Someone who's joyful is very happy. A joyful child will laugh with delight. When you experience the feeling of joy, you're joyful. For many people, their wedding day, the birth of their children, or simply a beautiful summer afternoon can all be joyful occasions. To be joyful is beyond being happy — there is delight and a kind of bliss involved in feeling joyful. The noun joy is at the root of joyful, from the Old French joie with its Latin root of gaudere, "rejoice."
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.
Joyful chaos reigned when AFP met them in their small apartment at the end of September.
From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025
"The musicians who get my stuff, who are excited to hold a Wicked Joyful in their hands, they know it's my artwork, they know it's mine," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2025
The Emmy Award-winning actor, who for years had supported survivors of sexual assault through her nonprofit Joyful Heart Foundation, testified with Worthy before Congress in 2017 on national rape kit reform.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2024
Or, give the Joyful Trains of northern Japan a try.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 2, 2023
Her apartment was a flight up from a bodega with a dingy yellow awning: the Joyful Food Mart.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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.
