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

Mraz was happily a member of Page’s backing group at the 2025 Adams Avenue Unplugged Festival and at other performances. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026

Cana delivers, sending diners hurtling happily to Rio de Janeiro. —Elazar Sontag, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2026

Now that Benedict and Sophie have their happily ever after, there’s so much to unpack about everything else that happened in the Bridgerton finale of the fourth season. —Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 26 Feb. 2026

The emus helped themselves happily to both, smashing down fences and churning up crops in the process. —Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 25 Feb. 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