joyful
Americanadjective
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full of joy, as a person or one's heart; glad; delighted.
- Antonyms:
- melancholy
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showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech.
-
causing or bringing joy, as an event, a sight, or news; delightful.
the joyful announcement of their marriage.
adjective
-
full of joy; elated
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expressing or producing joy
a joyful look
a joyful occasion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of joyful
Explanation
Someone who's joyful is very happy. A joyful child will laugh with delight. When you experience the feeling of joy, you're joyful. For many people, their wedding day, the birth of their children, or simply a beautiful summer afternoon can all be joyful occasions. To be joyful is beyond being happy — there is delight and a kind of bliss involved in feeling joyful. The noun joy is at the root of joyful, from the Old French joie with its Latin root of gaudere, "rejoice."
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’s meant to be protected. Everything in me resists sharing it publicly — not because I’m not grateful or joyful, but because this feels like one of the few things that truly belongs to me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
There is also a smattering of sculptures, including a joyful mother and child by Fernando Botero and a series of full-scale creations featuring some of “Star Wars” most beloved characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
"I wanted to make something hard joyful for my children and for myself because I didn't want them to see me upset, and my daughter loved it."
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Travel, she says, “was exciting, exhausting, anxiety-producing, disorienting, stimulating, joyful and difficult to explain to others.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Perhaps the most joyful alliances from this time were those that ended in marriage—and quite a few of them did.
From "A Thousand Sisters" 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.
