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Synonyms

cheerful

American  
[cheer-fuhl] / ˈtʃɪər fəl /

adjective

  1. full of cheer; in good spirits.

    a cheerful person.
    Synonyms:
    jolly, sunny, buoyant, joyous, joyful, happy, blithe, gay, cheery
    Antonyms:
    miserable

  2. promoting or inducing cheer; pleasant; bright.

    cheerful surroundings.

  3. characterized by or expressive of good spirits or cheerfulness.

    cheerful songs.

  4. hearty or ungrudging.

    cheerful giving.
    Synonyms:
    generous
    Antonyms:
    grudging
cheerful British  
/ ˈtʃɪəfʊl /

adjective

  1. having a happy disposition; in good spirits

  2. pleasantly bright; gladdening

    a cheerful room

  3. hearty; ungrudging; enthusiastic

    cheerful help
"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

Other Word Forms

  • cheerfully adverb
  • cheerfulness noun
  • quasi-cheerful adjective
  • quasi-cheerfully adverb
  • uncheerful adjective
  • uncheerfully adverb
  • uncheerfulness noun

Etymology

Origin of cheerful

First recorded in 1400–50, cheerful is from the late Middle English word cherfull. See cheer, -ful

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.

“Let Me Roll It” had a funky swagger, while “Getting Better” chugged with cheerful insistence; “I’ve Just Seen a Face” showed off the group’s crisp harmonies and “Lady Madonna” its tight rhythmic interplay.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026

And it turns out that there was something deeper going on—something that none of the cheerful messages around breastfeeding warned me about.

From Slate • Mar. 15, 2026

I’ve watched cheerful “come with me to get a…DEXA scan!” videos on Instagram, followed by 20-somethings dissecting their results.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

The star, who shot to fame as a child actor on The Wire in the early 2000s, has plenty to be cheerful about.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

“It’s going to be fun to build a little house in the woods,” Jonathan said, forcing himself to sound cheerful.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

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.