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happily

 
Dictionary: Hap·pi·ly

adv. (hăp"pĭ*l)

[From Happy.]

1. By chance; peradventure; haply. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

2. By good fortune; fortunately; luckily.

Preferred by conquest, happily o'erthrown.
Waller.

3. In a happy manner or state; in happy circumstances; as, he lived happily with his wife.

4. With address or dexterity; gracefully; felicitously; in a manner to insure success; with success.

Formed by thy converse, happily to steer
From grave to gay, from lively to severe.
Pope.

Syn. -- Fortunately; luckily; successfully; prosperously; contentedly; dexterously; felicitously.


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Antonyms: happily
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adv

Definition: successfully
Antonyms: unfortunately, unhappily, unluckily, unsuccessfully

v

Definition: with joy, pleasure
Antonyms: miserably, unhappily


Hacker Slang: happily
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Of software, used to emphasize that a program is unaware of some important fact about its environment, either because it has been fooled into believing a lie, or because it doesn't care. The sense of ‘happy’ here is not that of elation, but rather that of blissful ignorance. “The program continues to run, happily unaware that its output is going to /dev/null.” Also used to suggest that a program or device would really rather be doing something destructive, and is being given an opportunity to do so. “If you enter an O here instead of a zero, the program will happily erase all your data.” Nevertheless, use of this term implies a basically benign attitude towards the program: It didn't mean any harm, it was just eager to do its job. We'd like to be angry at it but we shouldn't, we should try to understand it instead. The adjective “cheerfully” is often used in exactly the same way.


Word Tutor: happily
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: With gladness or joy.

pronunciation It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis. — Margaret Bonnano

Shopping: happily
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cheerfully (computer jargon)
luckily
gladly

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Dictionary. Webster 1913 Dictionary edited by Patrick J. Cassidy  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
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