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

Our children loved the jets and bubbles and would happily have remained there for the afternoon. — Fergus Scholes, TheWeek, 3 Nov. 2026

Bass may be free and happily married with his third child on the way, but even on the frontier, Black bounties go for half the rate of white ones. — Alison Herman, Variety, 3 Nov. 2026

The 76ers happily matched the pace set by the Bulls, scoring six of their first seven points in transition. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026

Bush sunflower has already been growing, naturally, at Eaton Canyon post-fire, which Stevenson happily noted last year. — Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 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