happiness

[ hap-ee-nis ]

noun

1. the quality or state of being happy.

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

   Antonyms: misery

2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

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

Other Words From

• over·happi·ness 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

In the mid-1800s, famed naturalist Charles Darwin wrote that "the lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery."

From Science Daily

She wrote: "We will never get Elijah back and can only remember the happiness he brought us in his short life."

From BBC

Despite all the challenges Luke said he faced growing up as "a gay boy in the south Wales valleys", he has found happiness and success.

From BBC

“This feeling of everyday happiness didn’t exist back then,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

"People are so stressed these days, so these events are a good thing. Because happiness is infectious."

From BBC

Related Words

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