cheery
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cheery
Explanation
Something that's cheery makes you feel happy. A cheery summer day is sunny and bright. It's always fun to spend time with a cheery friend, one who is positive and happy, or to participate in some cheery activity, like watching a funny movie or having a picnic. Cheery things do exactly what they sound like — they cheer you up. You can also use cheerful to mean the same thing, and both words are rooted in cheer, from the Anglo-French chere, "the face," with its Greek root kara, "head."
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.
See Examples For:
Mychal Threets, the cheery host of ‘Reading Rainbow,’ told fans on social media, ‘Today I am safe, I’m believing that is enough,’ after he checked into a hospital for his mental health.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Even the brief imitation of Lennon’s “losing control” scream is laser-precise, meant to boost the song’s momentum and carry it through a cheery and lazy surf solo.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Which leads him to yet more parts unknown, including the Hallmark offices, as bleakly nondescript as its productions are warm and cheery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Pop artist Peter Max, whose cheery psychedelic creations helped define the counterculture aesthetic in the 1960s, died on Monday, US media reported.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
It was a warm day, Ifemelu had walked past students sprawled on green lawns; cheery balloons were clustered below a welcome freshmen sign.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The band later had hits with much cheerier material, including "Friday I'm in Love".
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
Tory, a redheaded ray of sunshine, makes it even cheerier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2024
But while JD struggled, its High Street neighbour Next enjoyed cheerier Christmas sales and raised its profit prediction to £960m.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2024
Taken together they're the closest any of us may come to knowing what it's like to pass through a black hole and emerge into a cheerier existence.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2023
Dear old soul, I'll be good by-and-by, but now I'm tired and cross, so let me keep out of every one's way and drowse myself into a cheerier frame of mind.
From Moods by Louisa May Alcott
Their festive rush through the streets will make you fall in love with New York's cheeriest seasonal spots while longing for the moment when strangers Dash and Lily finally collide.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2024
Defence stocks rose, rarely the cheeriest sign from a human perspective.
From Reuters ● Sep. 21, 2022
The cheeriest part of the school is the wellness center, with social workers, therapists, bean bag chairs and soothing paint colors.
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2021
Not the cheeriest sentiment, perhaps, but — just as with the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms — periodical cicadas do lend themselves to verse.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 8, 2021
I went up to the manager and said in my cheeriest voice, “Good afternoon. I am from the People’s Center summer camp, and I buy dinner groceries at this store.”
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
