glee

noun

ˈglē 

1

: exultant high-spirited joy : merriment

dancing with glee

2

: a part-song for usually male voices

Synonyms

• cheer
• cheerfulness
• cheeriness
• festivity
• gaiety
• gayety
• gayness
• gleefulness
• hilarity
• jocundity
• joviality
• merriment
• merriness
• mirth
• mirthfulness

Examples of glee in a Sentence

They were dancing with glee.

He could hardly contain his glee over his victory.

Recent Examples on the Web

This, after all, is the same man who mere minutes before watched with glee as his former lover was executed. —Hunter Ingram, Variety, 19 July 2024

Trump’s domestic backers have expressed glee at the prospect of far-right ascendancy that would leave Macron weakened. —Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2024

That’s part of the glee animating our current moment of celebrating older woman/younger man romances. —Constance Grady, Vox, 21 June 2024

Does Billy get to regard big guns with glee, and does Taggart fetch a shotgun from his trunk? —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 2 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English glēo entertainment, music; akin to Old Norse glȳ joy, and perhaps to Greek chleuē joke

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing glee

• glee club

Kids Definition

glee

noun

ˈglē 

1

: high-spirited joy

2

: an unaccompanied song for three or more voices

gleeful

-fəl

adjective

gleefully

-fə-lē

adverb

gleefulness noun