contented
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- contentedly adverb
- contentedness noun
- half-contented adjective
- half-contentedly adverb
- overcontented adjective
- overcontentedly adverb
- quasi-contented adjective
- quasi-contentedly adverb
Etymology
Origin of contented
Explanation
If you're contented, you're happy and not complaining. In the early 1900s, a dairy company cleverly used the word in their advertising slogan — "Milk from contented cows." Who wouldn't like to imagine cows without a care, contented and grazing in sunny, green pastures, every now and then emitting a satisfied moo? The company, which is still in business, became known by that slogan, which they used for many years. They even sponsored a radio show called "The Contented Hour," broadcast from 1931 until 1951.
Vocabulary lists containing contented
"Two Kinds"
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"The First Day of School," Vocabulary from the short story
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Smiley Face: Synonyms for "Happy"
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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.
Sturgeon also said she was "contented" and "at peace" with her decision to quit politics.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Rather, that contented knowing seasons the confidence with which O’Hara shaped all of her women, whether mothers or, like Patty Leigh in “The Studio,” mother figures.
From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026
“Wi$h Li$t,” a wistful song that hits like a contented sigh, imagines a simple life of domesticity in a suburban house with a basketball hoop, children and peace.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025
But if I were to ever see anything remotely approaching this level in the theater, I could end my career a contented critic.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2025
And then she gave a contented sigh, falling instantly asleep, pressing herself into the softness of the Witch’s belly.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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.
