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
Brian Hildebrand was glad when Wisconsin officials recently warned that voters can’t legally cast a ballot in an election they bet on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
She added: “I’m glad authors and publishers could tell Anthropic the obvious: You can’t steal our stuff!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
While the press focuses on celebrity award winners, Lawrence says he was glad to showcase people like Michael Akers a "young lad with a disability... who set up a charity advocating for other children".
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
I could barely remember what I was supposed to say, I was so glad to be talking to anyone at all.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Nobody is gladder for Rosen, Donoghue, and Engel than constitutional democracy is today.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2022
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
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
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
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
But what I was gladdest about was to really get it all opened up and fresh.
From Sunshine Jane by Warner, Anne
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
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
Now, I saw in my dream, that He spake many good words unto them, whereby they were greatly gladded.
From Works of John Bunyan — Volume 03 by Bunyan, John
This news so gladded the heart of Corydon, that he should not be put out of his farm, that putting off his shepherd's bonnet, he did her all the reverence that he might.
From Rosalynde or, Euphues' Golden Legacy by Baldwin, Edward Chauncey
This is their country mode; but I do ensure thee I had been little gladded for leave to kiss the dust; and it doth yet tickle mine ears whensoever I hear it.
From Robin Tremayne A Story of the Marian Persecution by Holt, Emily Sarah
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
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
Oh, noble is the knotted oak, And sweet the gush of sylvan streams, And good the great sun's gladding beams, The blush of life upon the field, The silent might that mountains wield.
From Rose and Roof-Tree — Poems by Lathrop, George Parsons
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
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
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.
