happily
Americanadverb
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in a happy manner; with pleasure.
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by good fortune; providentially; luckily.
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felicitously; appropriately; aptly.
a happily turned phrase.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of happily
A Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at happy, -ly
Explanation
Do something happily and you'll be cheerful and lighthearted. It can lift your spirits just to hear your friend whistling happily as she walks down the sidewalk with a smile on her face. If you're happy to do something, you'll do it happily. Most of us will happily finish that last piece of cake or happily cuddle a tiny puppy. A second meaning of this adverb is "fortunately," so you could say, "Happily, I shut the front door before your cat got out!" This definition dates from the late 14th century — earlier, people used happily to mean "accidentally." And of course the very happiest stories end with "they lived happily ever after."
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.
Some videos show groups of young men and women swimming happily in the sea - even though many have drowned making the trip in recent weeks.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Repelled, Nancy replies that she will be happily spending her summer slinging pizzas in Provincetown.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
For the Lakers, it really could end happily ever after.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
But I was happily surrounded by Tail Town’s 39 loving and free-roaming cat residents, all up for adoption and curious about humans staying overnight in their 2,000-square-foot domain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“Just the polar bear we need right now!” she shouted happily, jumping back on her feet.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
