happiness

[hap-ee-nis]

noun

1. the quality or state of being happy.

   Synonyms: satisfaction, enjoyment, delight, contentedness, bliss, exhilaration, joy, pleasure
   Antonyms: misery

2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

   Synonyms: delight, contentedness, bliss, exhilaration, joy, pleasure, satisfaction, enjoyment

Other Word Forms

• overhappiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of happiness¹

First recorded in 1520–30; happy + -ness

Synonym Study

Happiness, bliss, contentment, felicity imply an active or passive state of pleasure or pleasurable satisfaction. Happiness results from the possession or attainment of what one considers good: the happiness of visiting one's family. Bliss is unalloyed happiness or supreme delight: the bliss of perfect companionship. Contentment is a peaceful kind of happiness in which one rests without desires, even though every wish may not have been gratified: contentment in one's surroundings. Felicity is a formal word for happiness of an especially fortunate or intense kind: to wish a young couple felicity in life.

Example Sentences

It was the realization that in experiencing the peace that doing nothing brings, I could acknowledge quietly to myself, “This is happiness.”

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“This is a story of happiness,” Gibson insists at one point, refusing to cower to cancer.

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And with their home reduced to a haunted ruin, the sisters find a kind of safety, and happiness, at last.

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Little Clouds Nursery said the "safety, wellbeing and happiness of children" was its top priority and the staff member involved was no longer employed.

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"I feel a deep sense of happiness, pride and honour within me," she said as she prepared to compete in the Spanish city.

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Related Words

• bliss 
• contentment 
• delight 
• elation 
• enjoyment 
• euphoria 
• exhilaration 
• glee 
• joy 
• jubilation 
• laughter 
• optimism 
• peace of mind www.thesaurus.com
• pleasure 
• prosperity 
• well-being