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

Relevance

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
  • Children crowded the play areas, despite the damp, gray weather, shrieking with joy (and in one instance, crying).
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Italians are fed energetically with the sustenance of beauty, ease, and joy.
    — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of joy
Noun
  • The series will explore what constitutes happiness in different cultures and show the travelers — and viewers — different approaches to contentment.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Yet as related here in the low-key delivery of someone who not just survived but lived to be 101 years old, Jaku was able to enjoy the love, peace, contentment and security he was denied in his youth.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of contentment
Noun
  • And listening to every chat were two experts in the science of happiness.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Most of the new songs wrestle with how to seek pleasure while remaining hyperaware of the devastations of the world, and how that tension can make happiness itself feel like a vice.
    — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of happiness
Noun
  • In a Harris Poll survey published Wednesday, 65% of American adults reported spending $100 or more on playful activities or products — such as craft kits or action figures — for personal enjoyment between June 2025 and June 2026.
    — Renée Onque, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • My enjoyment now came from sitting back and watching her shine.
    — Diana Daniele, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of enjoyment
Noun
  • While some call it innovative, is there something that gets missed when the hard conversations about safety and pleasure become a digital feedback loop?
    — Brittany Luse, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Neufchatel Cheese This is just diet cream cheese, for those who prefer to sacrifice the small pleasures in life.
    — Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of pleasure
Noun
  • As much an acknowledgment of survival as a rallying cry, the song draws out sadness as well as satisfaction from the audience.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Correspondence files can be mined for service failures—moments where the company’s response didn’t match the member’s need—that predict attrition much more accurately than any customer satisfaction survey.
    — Amanda Turcotte, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of satisfaction
Noun
  • Doing so permanently deletes all locked chats, any memories stored only within locked chats, and files or other content protected only by the previous PIN.
    — Fernanda Tronco, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The latest Netflix call underlined the growth in terms of viewers of content coming from non-English language countries.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of content
Noun
  • Grenada The new year marks the 150th anniversary of Spicemas, the annual August carnival in Grenada, which is known as the Spice Island due to its cultivation of nutmeg, cloves and other scented delights.
    — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026
  • That may not be everybody’s notion of delight, but each to his own.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of delight

Browse Nearby Words

gladly
gladness
glad rags
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gladness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gladness. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of disparate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All