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.
Twenty-seven years later, ahead of the semiquincentennial, I reconnected with Dorothy and Marshall, who happily confirmed they are, and have for decades been, out and proud.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
I did it happily, but I didn’t have as much energy as I did in my 30s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Our home was a crazy jumble of pieces from different places we’d lived in before, all commingling, but not very happily; I called it the Island of Misfit Furniture.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Thankfully, Jimmy knew of a nest being built on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland which would happily take in the giggle of galahs, alongside its impending parliament of owls and pandemonium of parrots.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
My mom and dad happily accept the invitation, and Abuela looks mesmerized upon hearing all this.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
