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:
It was typical of the star's ability to radiate cheery goodwill that she never held a grudge against Wagoner, always crediting him with giving her a crucial career break, even after their relationship fell apart.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Despite the market’s fairly cheery mood, investors have plenty to worry about right now, Kramer said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
With its sunny elevator-music-scored opening of cheery park scenes and leafy residential neighborhoods, “Ice Cream Man” sets itself up, not unappealingly, like a Norman Rockwell painting asking to be vandalized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Long after Massie left the stage, the mood around the hotel where his election night party was held stayed cheery.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
He was very courteous and very cheery in his manner, and seeing that I had been sleeping, he said:—
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
The band later had hits with much cheerier material, including "Friday I'm in Love".
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
His version of the hero is far cheerier and more optimistic that other iterations, particularly compared to Henry Cavill's portrayal of him which was grittier and darker.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
Some Americans do have a cheerier outlook now.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
Taken together they're the closest any of us will come to knowing what it's like to pass through a black hole and emerge in a cheerier existence.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2023
The more stormy the day and the fewer in attendance, the cheerier be you.
From Sunday-School Success A Book of Practical Methods for Sunday-School Teachers and Officers by Amos R. Wells
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
Then the narrative became “It’s the cheeriest show you’ll ever see!”
From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 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
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.
