Dictionary.com
definitions

gladden

[glad-n]
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gladden ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to make glad.

verb (used without object)

Obsolete. to be glad.

RELATED WORDS

elate, brighten, hearten, delight, cheer, warm

Nearby words

  1. glad rags,
  2. glad-hand,
  3. glad-hander,
  4. gladbach-rheydt,
  5. gladbeck,
  6. gladdon,
  7. glade,
  8. gladiate,
  9. gladiator,
  10. gladiatorial

Origin of gladden

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at glad1, -en1
Related formsglad·den·er, nounun·glad·den, verb (used with object)

Synonym study

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

Examples from the Web for gladden

British Dictionary definitions for gladden

gladden

verb

to make or become glad and joyful
Derived Formsgladdener, noun
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 gladden

gladden

v.

c.1300, "to be glad;" 1550s, "to make glad;" see glad + -en (1). Earlier in both senses was simply glad (v.), from Old English gladian, Mercian gleadian "be glad, make glad."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper