happily

adverb

hap·​pi·​ly ˈha-pə-lē 

1

a

: in a fortunate manner

It was happily the case that Mr. Crawley was not at home.

—Anthony Trollope

b

: as it fortunately happens

Happily, some boyhood pleasures don't change.

—P. A. Witteman

2

archaic : by chance

3

a

: in a happy manner or state

happily married

… was happily shoveling a plate of ackee … into his mouth …

—Zadie Smith

b

: in a very willing way

happily postponed the appointment

4

: in an adequate or fitting manner : successfully

Synonyms of happily

• cheerfully

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

This is true for gluten-free diners as well, who can order off a physical gluten-free menu that happily includes most of the Pot’s hits. — Luke Pyenson, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 July 2026

Unlike Faye, Knoll is happily married to her husband, financial technology executive Greg Cortese. — Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2026

In this latest instalment, Dracula has happily settled into retirement while his daughter, Mavis, takes the reins of the legendary monster hotel. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 13 July 2026

Until then, global syndicates will happily roll the dice on street-level arrests while the corporate entities handling the cash enable the pipeline. — Ari Maas, New York Daily News, 11 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing happily

• lived happily ever after
• live happily ever after

Rhymes for happily

• unhappily

Kids 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