gladness

noun

Definition of gladnessnext
1
as in joy
a feeling or state of well-being and contentment felt nothing but gladness at seeing her best friend beat her out for the award

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in contentment
the feeling experienced when one's wishes are met the children's gladness was evident as they opened their Christmas presents

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gladness May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you. — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 17 Mar. 2026 Hazel shrugged, but Lilian could see her gladness at being asked. — Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026 Over time in Middle English, myrth(e) narrowed to mean joy, amusement, or gladness, often expressed in laughter and festivity. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gladness
  1. joy
  2. contentment
  3. happiness
  4. enjoyment
  5. pleasure
  6. satisfaction
  7. content
  8. delight
Noun
  • The joy and relief felt by Rose’s very long-term fans might well be compared to the sensation Democrat-leaning voters are feeling at the midterm results in the US.
    — Sarah Mower, Vogue, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Thank you to everyone who shared in those nights of joy, love and resistance.
    — Alex Suskind, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of joy
Noun
  • As the man falls to the ground dead, Jurek smiles in sadistic contentment.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Spates of them appear every couple of years, often inspired by surveys of financial contentment like Goldman’s.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of contentment
Noun
  • That pivot represents a rare about-face for a tech giant that has sought to remake the world in its own image, consumer happiness be damned.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The amateur is freed from the pressures of exhibition and sale, but that might just as easily breed bitterness as happiness.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of happiness
Noun
  • The six categories that allow a lawsuit Under the limitation option, a person can sue for noneconomic damages, which include pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, only if the injury falls into one of six categories.
    — Reputio, New York Daily News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The movie-logging platform has helped reshape the world’s repertory film scene — effectively gamifying the enjoyment of archival art — while debates about the Times often wind their way back to the paper’s coverage of Palestine and trans rights.
    — J. Kim Murphy, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of enjoyment
Noun
  • Today’s Venus-Jupiter sextile supports pleasure through friendship and a broader view of life.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Japanese content’s growing reach overseas has been a source of real pleasure.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of pleasure
Noun
  • Results included 30% less operating effort and customer satisfaction of 96%.
    — Dilip Kumar, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Studies out of the University of Toronto also show that 32 percent of single women report the highest tier of satisfaction with being single (compared to only 20 percent of single men).
    — Cheryl Fenton, Flow Space, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of satisfaction
Noun
  • Passed in 1996, the federal legislation has protected social media companies from being sued over content posted by their users.
    — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Clinical intent lives inside systems, EHRs, point-of-care workflows and clinical content platforms that were never built to expose it in real time to anyone outside the clinical encounter itself.
    — Kamya Elawadhi, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of content
Noun
  • The boysenberry, a Knott’s creation, is a delight, a sort of midpoint between a blackberry and a raspberry, although sweeter than both.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
  • One of the guests chuckles with evil delight when Kerry confirms that someone got in trouble.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of delight

Browse Nearby Words

gladly
gladness
glad rags
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Cite this Entry

“Gladness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gladness. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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