felicity

noun

fe·​lic·​i·​ty fi-ˈli-sə-tē How to pronounce felicity (audio)
plural felicities
1
a
: the quality or state of being happy
especially : great happiness
marital felicity
b
: an instance of happiness
2
: something that causes happiness
… the small felicities and absurdities of real life manage to peek through the gloom.A. O. Scott
3
: a pleasing manner or quality especially in art or language
a felicity with words
The curve of her mouth gives her a Mona Lisa smile, but that's just a felicity of her anatomy.Diane Ackerman
4
: an apt expression
The poet was well known for his felicities.

Examples of felicity in a Sentence

I've always admired his felicity with words. told his friends that marriage had brought him a felicity that he had never known before
Recent Examples on the Web So: Is any of this so very different from the absurd, grab-bag felicity of director King's Paddington 2, where we were enchanted watching a teddy bear sing and dance in prison? Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 15 Dec. 2023 However, Juneteenth maintains a resolve to protect Black family, freedom, and felicity. Danielle Broadway, Parents, 18 Nov. 2023 Again, studying the felicity conditions is what is needed. Kai Von Fintel, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2023 With a band of this size there are felicities in the orchestration, not least in the elegant writing for woodwinds, but even those are smudged by a poor sound design that runs the gamut from loud to much louder. David Benedict, Variety, 19 Sep. 2023 When such utterances are spoken in jest or in pretense, not all the felicity conditions are satisfied and the magic doesn’t happen. Kai Von Fintel, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2023 The golden message responsible for all this health and felicity? Gillian Silverman, The New Yorker, 15 July 2023 His grandfather, the late scriptwriter Inder Raj Anand wrote both social dramas and mainstream Bollywood films with equal felicity, and uncle Tinnu Anand was a noted director and actor. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 31 Jan. 2023 Tocqueville—this is apparent even in English translations of his work—constantly revised his writing to achieve maximum clarity and felicity. Barton Swaim, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'felicity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English felicite, from Anglo-French felicité, from Latin felicitat-, felicitas, from felic-, felix fruitful, happy — more at feminine

First Known Use

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of felicity was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near felicity

Cite this Entry

“Felicity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felicity. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

felicity

noun
fe·​lic·​i·​ty fi-ˈlis-ət-ē How to pronounce felicity (audio)
plural felicities
1
: great happiness : bliss
2
: something that causes happiness
3
: a pleasing manner or quality especially in art or language
a felicity with words
4
: a suitable expression

More from Merriam-Webster on felicity

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