glad
1 Americanadjective
-
gladder,
comparative
-
gladdest
superlative
-
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:
Tottenham fan Dakota said "I'm almost glad I can't make it" in relation to a Spurs social media advert about the north London derby, which listed DJs, drinks, face painting and freestylers.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
“I’m glad it’s down, but I shudder at what it would be if we had not invested the resources,” she told reporters outside of the Van Nuys police station.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
She condemned "the tendency to privatise everything" and said she was glad to see other protests in recent weeks over housing costs and a lack of protection for tenants.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
“I’m glad I did because they are stronger than ever,” Perry wrote in an email.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
I shot back, glad I had an outlet for the anger that had been simmering under the surface of my skin ever since that morning’s disastrous study session.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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 be gladder to see him this time, since for the moment at least I was not worried about the man.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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
She liked to wear it as a reminder to herself of many things that she desired never to forget, even in the gladdest and most festive moment.
From Roland Graeme: Knight A Novel of Our Time by Agnes Maule Machar
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 Robert Steele
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 Edward Chauncey Baldwin
And they must be gladded with instruments of music, and somedeal be occupied.
From Mediaeval Lore from Bartholomew Anglicus by Robert Steele
But I find not the angel in any wise gladded with the same.
From Mistress Margery by Emily Sarah Holt
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 George Parsons Lathrop
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 William Shakespeare
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 Ambrose Bierce
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 Emily Sarah Holt
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 William Shakespeare
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