joy
1 Americannoun
-
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.
She felt the joy of seeing her son's success.
- Synonyms:
- rapture
- Antonyms:
- grief, sorrow, unhappiness, misery
-
a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
Her prose style is a pure joy.
-
the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
-
a state of happiness or felicity.
- Synonyms:
- bliss
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
-
a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment
-
something causing such a feeling; a source of happiness
-
an outward show of pleasure or delight; rejoicing
-
informal success; satisfaction
I went to the bank for a loan, but got no joy
verb
-
(intr) to feel joy
-
obsolete (tr) to make joyful; gladden
Related Words
See pleasure.
Other Word Forms
- unjoyed adjective
Etymology
Origin of joy
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English joy(e), from Old French joie, joye, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium “joy,” equivalent to gaud- (base of gaudēre “to be glad”) + -ium -ium
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.
It is a joy for me as a manager to have him.
From BBC
For the first time, an exhibition halftime matchup will spotlight senior dogs, pitting Team Oldies against Team Goldies in a showcase that highlights the joys of adopting older animals, who are often overlooked in shelters.
From Salon
If Jets fans want to take a fragment of joy from watching their former franchise guy at work in early February, I’ll allow it.
Sure, this is Marge’s job, but it’s also her joy.
From Salon
"It's a great joy for him, when a player has such a bad injury we all feel it, we suffered with him... I'm very happy for him," Casado told Movistar.
From Barron's
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.
