1
a
: in a fortunate manner
b
: as it fortunately happens
happily, some boyhood pleasures don't change—
P. A. Witteman
P. A. Witteman2
archaic
: by chance
3
: in a happy manner or state
4
: in an adequate or fitting manner : successfully
Examples of happily in a Sentence
They have been happily married for 12 years.
They lived happily ever after.
We happily accept credit cards.
Recent Examples on the Web
Particularly in chronicling the sacrifices Cassandra happily made for Jane, Miss Austen suggests that there was always more than one way for a woman to lead a fulfilling life.
—Judy Berman, Time, 2 May 2025
With brute force attacks now happily using GPU power to drive the guessing of password combos and load password-stealing malware, and AI increasingly helping such threats to evolve, years turn into minutes, minutes into seconds, and defences start to look quite weak in many cases.
—Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
With her recent domination of Milan, and imminent command over New York City’s annual design week in May, Toogood is happily riding this second wave of success—and humbly basking in the highly deserved recognition from her industry peers.
—Dan Howarth, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025
Your local mechanic shop will happily offer to change this filter for you during oil changes.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happily
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Judy Berman, Time, 2 May 2025
With brute force attacks now happily using GPU power to drive the guessing of password combos and load password-stealing malware, and AI increasingly helping such threats to evolve, years turn into minutes, minutes into seconds, and defences start to look quite weak in many cases.
—Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
With her recent domination of Milan, and imminent command over New York City’s annual design week in May, Toogood is happily riding this second wave of success—and humbly basking in the highly deserved recognition from her industry peers.
—Dan Howarth, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025
Your local mechanic shop will happily offer to change this filter for you during oil changes.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happily
Cite this Entry
“Happily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happily. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
happily
adverb
hap·pi·ly
ˈhap-ə-lē 
1
: in a fortunate or lucky manner
happily, no one was injured
2
: in a happy manner or state
lived happily ever after
3
: in a fitting, effective, or successful manner
remarks happily worded
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