blithe

[blahyth, blahyth]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR blithe ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, blith·er, blith·est.

joyous, merry, or happy in disposition; glad; cheerful: Everyone loved her for her blithe spirit.

without thought or regard; carefree; heedless: a blithe indifference to anyone's feelings.

Origin of blithe

before 1000; Middle English; Old English blīthe; cognate with Old Norse blīthr, Old High German blīdi, Gothic bleiths

Related formsblithe·ful, adjectiveblithe·ful·ly, adverbblithe·ly, adverbblithe·ness, nouno·ver·blithe, adjective

Synonyms for blithe

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR blithe ON THESAURUS.COM

1. happy, mirthful, sprightly, light-hearted, buoyant, joyful, blithesome.

Antonyms for blithe

1. joyless.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for blitheness

jocundity, merriment, sprightliness, joyfulness, glee, joviality, jolliness, jollity, mirth, lightheartedness, mirthfulness, cheerfulness, happiness, carefreeness

Examples from the Web for blitheness

Historical Examples of blitheness

He wore an air of blitheness which, though silent, was overdone.
Bonaventure
George Washington Cable
Certainly of Greek blitheness and directness there was no trace.
Robert Elsmere
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Thereupon they parted with no blitheness, and Cormac went to his ship.
The Life and Death of Cormac the Skald
Unknown
“Not in it with the Cubs,” he announced, blitheness in his manner.
What's-His-Name
George Barr McCutcheon
All the blitheness was with Nikolaus; we others could not shake off our depression.
The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories
Mark Twain

British Dictionary definitions for blitheness

blithe

adjective

very happy or cheerful

heedless; casual and indifferent

Derived Formsblithely, adverbblitheness, noun

Word Origin for blithe

Old English blīthe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for blitheness

blithe

adj.

Old English bliþe "joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant," from Proto-Germanic *blithiz "gentle, kind" (cf. Old Saxon bliði "bright, happy," Middle Dutch blide, Dutch blijde, Old Norse bliðr "mild, gentle," Old High German blidi "gay, friendly," Gothic bleiþs "kind, friendly, merciful").

Rare since 16c. No cognates outside Germanic. "The earlier application was to the outward expression of kindly feeling, sympathy, affection to others, as in Gothic and ON.; but in OE. the word had come more usually to be applied to the external manifestation of one's own pleased or happy frame of mind, and hence even to the state itself." [OED]