HAPPY Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

lucky, fortunate, happy, providential mean meeting with unforeseen success. lucky stresses the role of chance in bringing about a favorable result. fortunate suggests being rewarded beyond what one deserves. happy combines the implications of lucky and fortunate with stress on being blessed. providential more definitely implies the help or intervention of a higher power. fit, suitable, meet, proper, appropriate, fitting, apt, happy, felicitous mean right with respect to some end, need, use, or circumstance. fit stresses adaptability and sometimes special readiness for use or action. suitable implies an answering to requirements or demands. meet suggests a just proportioning. proper suggests a suitability through essential nature or accordance with custom. appropriate implies eminent or distinctive fitness. fitting implies harmony of mood or tone. apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination. happy suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate. felicitous suggests an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful. Middle English, from hap 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 “Happy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happy. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025. happy Middle English happy "having or being good luck," a specialized sense of hap "chance, chance occurrence" — related to happen, mishap, perhaps Nglish: Translation of happy for Spanish Speakers Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! See Definitions and Examples » Get Word of the Day daily email! Learn a new word every day. Delivered to your inbox! © 2025 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated