bliss
1 Americannoun
-
supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment.
wedded bliss.
- Antonyms:
- misery
-
Theology. the joy of heaven.
-
heaven; paradise.
the road to eternal bliss.
-
Archaic. a cause of great joy or happiness.
idioms
noun
-
Sir Arthur (Edward Drummond), 1891–1975, English composer.
-
Tasker Howard, 1853–1930, U.S. general.
noun
-
perfect happiness; serene joy
-
the ecstatic joy of heaven
noun
Synonym Usage
See happiness.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bliss
First recorded before 1000; Middle English blisse, Old English bliss, blīths, equivalent to blīthe blithe + -s suffix
Explanation
Bliss is a state of complete happiness or joy. Marriage is often associated with this joyous feeling: people who are married and still in love are described as living in wedded bliss. Another common association is heaven or paradise, as in eternal bliss. Bliss is from Middle English blisse, from Old English bliss, blīths. The final -s in this Old English word is actually a suffix and the word itself is related to blīthe, the source of modern English blithe, which means happy.
Vocabulary lists containing bliss
Beowulf vocabulary
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 1
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Enjoy! Synonyms for "Pleasure"
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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:
That looming first common, boring day after a few weeks of new bliss is gone.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Meet the car owners disabling alarms and reconfiguring dashboards in search of low-tech bliss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
You don’t want to alienate your mom or dad, or make them feel that you don’t support their late-in-life shot at romantic bliss.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
That was the bliss before the brick wall of America.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Oh the bliss and the wonder of being with the family once again after all those weeks of fierce discipline!
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
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Gap expanded its relaunched fragrance lineup with a limited-edition holiday scent called Bliss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
In a subsequent statement, Art of Play said a nearly identical bird made by Seattle artist Bliss Kolb was available for $15,000.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
Bliss Cunneen walked away from an Anthropology university course in 2020 to train as a plumber.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
He was stunned to see his grandfather appear on screen, holding his father’s hand at the train station in Fort Bliss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Bliss and the other doctors ignored their warnings.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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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.