glad

1 of 3

adjective

ˈglad 

gladder; gladdest

1

a

: experiencing pleasure, joy, or delight : made happy

b

: very willing

glad to do it

c

: made pleased, satisfied, or grateful

—often used with of

was glad of their help

2

a

: marked by, expressive of, or caused by happiness and joy

a glad shout

b

: causing happiness and joy : pleasant

glad tidings

3

: full of brightness and cheerfulness

a glad spring morning

4

archaic : having a cheerful or happy disposition by nature

gladly adverb

gladness noun

glad

2 of 3

verb

gladded; gladding

archaic

: gladden

glad

3 of 3

noun

: gladiolus sense 1

Synonyms

Adjective

• blissful
• chuffed [British]
• delighted
• gratified
• happy
• joyful
• joyous
• pleased
• satisfied
• thankful
• tickled

Verb

• agree (with)
• content
• delight
• feast
• gas [slang]
• gladden
• gratify
• please
• pleasure
• rejoice
• satisfy
• suit
• warm

Examples of glad in a Sentence

Adjective

We're glad you could come.

I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have.

The mail brought glad news from our friends in England.

We've been through some sad times and some glad times.

Verb

it hath gladded my heart to see thy face again

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

There’s also the L.A. Times finding that half of all Republicans nationally would be glad to vote California out of the union, an act that YouGov indicated would probably be welcomed by most Californians. —Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024

Lyons is glad to have the box in front of the library to scoop up any spare glasses from all the people anticipated to gather at the library on the big day. —USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024

But many customers on Yelp were glad to see Friendly’s Restaurants back and revived, with some reservations. —Gary Stern, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

Resigning Ottavino at a discount was solid, glad to have him back. —Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 27 Mar. 2024

Holloway is glad to have this behind him, but no amount of money will make up for the psychological trauma he’s endured, Miller said. —Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2024

Despite this, Downs said the family is glad to see the case progressing. —Rachel Smith, The Courier-Journal, 21 Mar. 2024

Early announcements were for a film starring Harrison Ford as Stanton, but ultimately, the author is glad the movie version never happened. —Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024

Possibly, too, some are glad to have a break from their husbands. —Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024

Noun

His latest project is the Temple Grove, a wildly beautiful corner of the garden in a glads of high trees. —Town & Country, 28 Apr. 2023

Neither glads nor dahlias are fussy about starting soil. —Jeff Lowenfels | Alaska Gardening and Growing, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Mar. 2023

Plant a few more glads. —Jeff Lowenfels | Alaska Gardening and Growing, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Mar. 2023

Flowering plants, including glads, aren’t treasured for their leaves. —oregonlive, 14 Mar. 2020

Wow, what a year for flowers: peonies, dahlias, glads, ligularias — and most others for that matter. —Jeff Lowenfels, Alaska Dispatch News, 4 Aug. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Verb

Middle English, shining, glad, from Old English glæd; akin to Old High German glat shining, smooth, Latin glaber smooth, bald

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1923, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing glad

• glad hand
• glad rags

Kids Definition

glad

adjective

ˈglad

gladder; gladdest

1

a

: experiencing pleasure, joy, or delight : made happy

glad things turned out well

b

: made pleased, satisfied, or grateful

was glad of their help

c

: very willing

glad to do it

2

a

: marked by, expressive of, or caused by happiness

a glad shout

b

: causing happiness and joy : pleasant

glad tidings

3

: full of brightness and cheerfulness

a glad spring morning

gladly adverb

gladness noun