happy ending
Americannoun
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happy endings
plural
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in a story, a conclusion in which good has the final victory and major issues are resolved to the satisfaction of the lead characters, often with the formation of a romantic relationship and sometimes regarded as unrealistic, cliché, or sentimental.
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in real life, a favorable conclusion to any issue or series of events; a positive outcome for a particular person or group.
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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.
Reading and becoming part of a book group proved a lifesaver for him, coaxing him back to his own happy ending.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Writer-director Reed Van Dyk’s feature debut navigates tricky emotional waters but emerges as a trenchant examination of what forgiveness and penitence can look like, allowing no room for anything resembling a pat happy ending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
There’s more subtlety, more shades of gray, and while it doesn’t have a happy ending either, it offers ecstatic redemption.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
It's been a happy ending for the eggs of an elusive bird that were just inches from the flames of a large wildfire earlier this year.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Because that would be the happy ending, the right ending for a jolly girls’ adventure story.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
