glee

noun

ˈglē 

1

: exultant high-spirited joy : merriment

dancing with glee

2

: a part-song for usually male voices

Synonyms of glee

• cheerfulness
• merriness
• cheer
• festivity
• mirth

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

Not really, but various Bacons deliver them with all the proud glee of a kid starring in their first school play. —Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026

The dangerous joy, the glee and courage, the humor in the face of fate, the wild ramble of a life driven towards the artistic heavens and the daily balm of self obliteration. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2026

On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert could not contain his glee. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2026

Facts about elephant seals—a bull’s responsibility to impregnate his harem of females, birthing and nursing—though presented scientifically, put the children in a state of wild glee that a thousand-year-old redwood tree or a century-old lighthouse could not induce. —Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026

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

Rhymes for glee

• be
• bee
• bree
• cree
• fee
• flea
• flee
• free
• gee
• ghee
• he
• ki

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