Related Words
See happiness.
Other Word Forms
- overcontentment noun
- precontentment noun
Etymology
Origin of contentment
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English contentement, from Middle French; content 2 ( def. ), -ment ( def. )
Compare meaning
How does contentment compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Who doesn’t yearn to clean up their mistakes and find some semblance of happiness, even when contentment seems so far out of reach?
From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026
Soon settled in a mansion on the Isle of Wight, the once-depressive Tennyson found contentment in marriage, family and fame.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
Aleys acknowledges the contentment of the Beguines, understanding that their communal labors knit their “hopes, their labor, even their disagreements” as “strands in a single weave.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026
We chase happiness when what we should be seeking is contentment.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 21, 2026
For a while, as they walked, they seemed to carry in them a measure of contentment; some of the serenity and the cleanliness of that big warm kitchen lingered on inside them.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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.
