glad
1 Americanadjective
-
feeling joy or pleasure; delighted; pleased: glad that you are here.
glad about the good news;
glad that you are here.
- Antonyms:
- sad
-
accompanied by or causing joy or pleasure: glad tidings.
a glad occasion;
glad tidings.
- Antonyms:
- sad
-
characterized by or showing cheerfulness, joy, or pleasure, as looks or utterances.
- Antonyms:
- sad
-
very willing.
I'll be glad to give him your message.
verb (used with object)
noun
adjective
-
happy and pleased; contented
-
causing happiness or contentment
-
very willing
he was glad to help
-
happy or pleased to have
glad of her help
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of glad1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English glæd; cognate with Old Norse glathr “bright, glad,” Dutch glad, German glatt “smooth”; akin to Latin glaber “smooth”
Origin of glad2
First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening
Explanation
Glad is how you feel when you hear that something nice happened to someone you care about, or when you learn you got an A on that test you studied so hard for. It means happy or pleased. Glad doesn't quite mean jumping for joy — it's more a state of contentment and pleasure. You're glad to hear from an old friend who calls you out of the blue and glad to meet your friendly new neighbors. Glad can also mean "eagerly willing" so you might say, "I'll be glad to taste test those brownies for you!" The Old English source is glæd, "gleaming, joyous, or gracious."
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’s going to take a few weeks to get a resolution, and there’s no guarantee that anything will change, but I’m glad I went hunting for answers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“I’m genuinely glad to see organizations at the national level addressing this gap,” said Samara Tricarico, co-founder of the non-profit Endurant Movement, which works with neurodivergent youth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
I'm glad the message of this story is that, even though I'm the villain, everyone's sticking up for the national park.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
As I was in the process of leaving it all behind, I was going, “OK, yeah, whoo, glad I made it out of there!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
“But I’m glad you all finally met. Maybe Brie and Teddy can join us for a Thursday night dinner sometime, huh, Grace? So Celia can meet them, too.”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
I’m so glad that you were able to speak to your partner, even if you feared his reaction, and even gladder that you’re both excited about this new baby.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2020
I was even gladder to see his look of awe, his happy suspension of disbelief in the face of such adult wizardry.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 29, 2019
No holdouts, which makes Carroll’s heart even gladder.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2016
I am glad to have finally seen it, but gladder still that my bed is not a bus ride away.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 25, 2010
I could not be gladder of carrying it.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Famed in Los Angeles as the gladdest glad-hander of them all, Norris Poulson made the mistake of trying to slug it out with Yorty.
From Time Magazine Archive
Across the land this Christmas season, churches old and new, grand or unpretentious, prepare for the gladdest occasion of the Christian calendar.
From Time Magazine Archive
For many an entrepreneurial Pop the gladdest moment of a lifetime is when his No.1 son enters the family firm.
From Time Magazine Archive
She had run over to me and was standing down below with the gladdest face.
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
That was perhaps the gladdest night of his life, for such a great disaster the Swedes had not suffered since the beginning of the war.
From The Deluge, Vol. II. (of 2) An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia. by Sienkiewicz, Henryk
The doctor waved his hand to the Royal Orchestra, who immediately struck up with Jesu Christes Milde Moder—since Dr. Bartholomew’s book had recommended that madmen should be gladded with instruments.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
The guests be gladded with lutes and harps.
From Mediaeval Lore from Bartholomew Anglicus by Steele, Robert
Sithence I writ what goeth afore, have we all been rare gladded by Walter’s coming, which was just when the dusk had fallen.
From Joyce Morrell's Harvest The Annals of Selwick Hall by Holt, Emily Sarah
Hence I took a thought This was a judgement on me; that my kingdom, Well worthy the best heir o' the world, should not Be gladded in't by me.
From King Henry VIII by Shakespeare, William
And they must be gladded with instruments of music, and somedeal be occupied.
From Mediaeval Lore from Bartholomew Anglicus by Steele, Robert
God safely quit her of her burden, and With gentle travail, to the gladding of Your Highness with an heir!
From King Henry VIII by Shakespeare, William
And God give you to know Christ, and send us a happy meeting in that His blessed habitation, unto the great gladding of your most loving and dutiful daughter, Margery Marnell.
From Mistress Margery by Holt, Emily Sarah
God safely quit her of her Burthen, and With gentle Trauaile, to the gladding of Your Highnesse with an Heire King.
From Henry VIII by Shakespeare, William
One day she saw below her in the forest a dear gazelle, gladding her with its soft black eye.
From Cobwebs from an Empty Skull by Bierce, Ambrose
But where the devil were you gladding last night, my young master?
From The Three Musketeers by Dumas père, Alexandre
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.
