felicity

[ fi-lis-i-tee ]
See synonyms for felicity on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural fe·lic·i·ties.
  1. the state of being happy, especially in a high degree; bliss: marital felicity.

  2. an instance of this.

  1. a source of happiness.

  2. a skillful faculty: felicity of expression.

  3. an instance or display of this: the many felicities of the poem.

  4. Archaic. good fortune.

Origin of felicity

1
1350–1400; Middle English felicite (from Anglo-French ) from Latin fēlīcitās, equivalent to fēlīci- (stem of fēlīx ) “happy” + -tās -ty2

synonym study For felicity

1. See happiness.

Other words from felicity

  • non·fe·lic·i·ty, noun

Words Nearby felicity

Other definitions for Felicity (2 of 2)

Felicity
[ fi-lis-i-tee ]

noun
  1. a female given name, form of Felicia.

  • Also Fe·lic·i·ta [fi-lis-i-tuh]. /fɪˈlɪs ɪ tə/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use felicity in a sentence

  • He is a creator of television shows including felicity, Alias, and Lost.

    Is Star Trek Now Cool? | Kim Masters | May 7, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • “Now this is what I call real felicity,” observed the major, pulling out a pipe which he proceeded to fill.

    Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne
  • The charm of style, the delicacy of touch, and felicity of phrase, are in both cases preeminent.

    Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange Kielland
  • I conceive that the strictest union of affection is requisite to conjugal felicity.

  • Marriage, which ought to be a source of all felicity, is often to a man a heavy burden which crushes him through want of fortune.

  • On the sweet face of this brave mother, once so severely tried, the expression of profound felicity was depicted.

British Dictionary definitions for felicity

felicity

/ (fɪˈlɪsɪtɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. happiness; joy

  2. a cause of happiness

  1. an appropriate expression or style

  2. the quality or display of such expressions or style

  3. philosophy appropriateness (of a speech act). The performative I appoint you ambassador can only possess felicity if uttered by one in whom the authority for such appointments is vested

Origin of felicity

1
C14: from Latin fēlīcitās happiness, from fēlix happy

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