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.
Yet that wasn’t her only hit to go happily over the top.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2026
All youth sports are like this, but soccer is hilariously commodified: if you want your golden retriever to play for the Fire Kickers FC Select D Team, Fire Kickers FC will happily take your money.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026
For a while, the two recipes existed happily in parallel until, one afternoon, it occurred to me that they might actually be the same conversation.
From Salon • Jul. 4, 2026
Replying to that comment, Allen joked: "I'd happily concede that I'm a bit weird."
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026
The Incorrigible children sat happily in the corner, trying to find a lid for every pot.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
