happy

The word “happy” means feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. In plain terms, feeling good, pleased, or willing.

“Happy” is pronounced HA-pee (/ˈhæpi/ in IPA).

Here is “happy” used in a sentence: “She was happy to finally finish the marathon.”

Words with a similar meaning to “happy” include berserk, blissed out, blithe, buoyant, chirpy and blithesome.

The opposite of “happy” — its antonyms — are dejected, depressed, discontented, dissatisfied and gloomy.

“Happy” is an adjective.

“Happy” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Happy” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.

Happy usually describes an active, upbeat feeling of pleasure, often sparked by something specific. Content is quieter - a calm satisfaction with how things are, wanting nothing more. You can feel happy about good news yet content with an ordinary day. Contentment tends to last longer than a burst of happiness.

Both describe pleasure, but joyful is the stronger word. Happy is the everyday term for feeling good or pleased, while joyful suggests intense, overflowing delight. A person can be quietly happy, but joy is harder to contain - it often shows in laughter, celebration, or even tears of gladness.

The most common opposite of happy is sad - feeling sorrow or low spirits. Depending on context, unhappy, miserable, or gloomy also fit. Happy points to pleasure and contentment, while its opposites point to disappointment, grief, or a general absence of joy.

Not precisely, but researchers try. Psychologists use surveys and self-reported scales to gauge how happy people feel, and countries track 'life satisfaction' in wellbeing studies. These reveal useful patterns, though happiness is subjective and personal, so no single number can capture it perfectly.