glee
1 Americanverb (used without object)
noun
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a squint.
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an imperfect eye, especially one with a cast.
noun
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great merriment or delight, often caused by someone else's misfortune
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a type of song originating in 18th-century England, sung by three or more unaccompanied voices Compare madrigal
Synonym Usage
See mirth.
Etymology
Origin of glee1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English glēo; cognate with Old Norse glȳ; akin to glow
Origin of glee2
1250–1300; Middle English glien, gleen; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse gljā to shine
Explanation
If you learned that you'd won a trip for four to Disney World, it would be hard to hide your glee. Glee means extreme happiness or delight. Anything that makes you full of joy, so happy you could laugh out loud, fills you with glee. If your favorite football team wins the Super Bowl, your glee will make you cheer, and a kid let loose with a ten dollar bill in a candy shop might dance around with glee. In the 1700s and 1800s, a glee was a song written for men's a cappella singing groups, which were sometimes called glee clubs.
Vocabulary lists containing glee
Words inspired by "Inside Out"
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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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.
As the tribunes, Bernardo De Paula’s Brutus and Daniel DeYoung’s Sicinius scheme and rabble-rouse with manipulative glee.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026
But that he’s done it with such singular style and childlike glee is enough to make the audience remember that a movie theater is a hallowed space.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
But his supporters have, with glee and gusto, some of which Mr. Pratt has appeared to endorse by featuring them on his social-media platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
The actor, 86, finds the revelation delightful, triggering a hint of whimsical glee reminiscent of Gandalf himself.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
Pelicarnassus yelled at them, glee in his voice.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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.
