gaily
Americanadverb
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with merriment; merrily; joyfully; cheerfully.
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with showiness; showily.
adverb
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in a lively manner; cheerfully
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with bright colours; showily
Etymology
Origin of gaily
A Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at gay, -ly
Explanation
When you do something gaily, you do it in a happy, carefree way. If you're really glad that your cousins are visiting, you'll wave gaily to them as they pull up in your driveway. This adverb is ideal for things done in a merry or blithe fashion, like when your dog trots gaily down the sidewalk, wagging his tail, or a bunch of kids laugh gaily together at a silly joke. It's all about happiness in the moment. The word comes from the Middle English gai, "joyful, happy, or pleasant." If vocabulary is your favorite thing, you'll gaily dive into word quizzes and games whenever you get the chance.
Vocabulary lists containing gaily
Let's Go Caroling, List 3
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Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
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Novel Study: Bless Me, Ultima, Chapters 1–9
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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.
But she has skipped gaily upon each milestone, obscuring the nature and means of that progress.
From Slate • Jan. 9, 2024
The scene in question shows her determination to get them on her page: Julia gaily waltzes into the offices of WGBH, cake plate in hand and ready to negotiate with a side of sugar.
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2022
Texts from the Karnak temple complex near Luxor describe baboons as “announcing” Ra while “they dance for him, jump gaily for him, sing praises for him, and shout out for him.”
From Scientific American • Nov. 17, 2021
The actors now take turns reading from letters, transcripts and news accounts without milking the expressive techniques so gaily demonstrated in the first half of the play.
From New York Times • Sep. 26, 2019
They were more interested in Sam and Pippin, who were now feeling quite at home, and were chatting gaily about events in the Shire.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
