adj., -pi·er, -pi·est.
- Characterized by good luck; fortunate.
- Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy.
- Being especially well-adapted; felicitous: a happy turn of phrase.
- Cheerful; willing: happy to help.
- Characterized by a spontaneous or obsessive inclination to use something. Often used in combination: trigger-happy.
- Enthusiastic about or involved with to a disproportionate degree. Often used in combination: money-happy; clothes-happy.
[Middle English, from hap, luck. See hap.]
happily hap'pi·ly adv.happiness hap'pi·ness n.
SYNONYMS happy, fortunate, lucky, providential. These adjectives mean attended by luck or good fortune: a happy outcome; a fortunate omen; a lucky guess; a providential recovery. See also synonyms at glad1.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
