happily
- 01 A2 Elementary
in a way that shows you are happy or enjoying yourself.
in a joyful or cheerful manner. This manner adverb typically follows the verb it modifies.
Simple“The children played happily in the garden all afternoon.”
In context“The toddler hummed happily to himself while arranging his wooden blocks into a precarious tower on the living room rug.”
Synonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
to do something with pleasure or without any problems.
with a willing or cooperative attitude; often used to indicate a lack of objection.
Simple“I would happily help you with your homework if you need it.”
In context“The experienced diplomat happily accepted the invitation to mediate the dispute, seeing it as an opportunity to restore regional stability.”
Antonymsreluctantlyunwillingly - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
used to say that something is lucky or a good result.
by good fortune or luck. Often functions as a sentence adverb to comment on the success of a situation.
Simple“Happily, the rain stopped just before the outdoor wedding began.”
In context“Happily, the structural damage was less severe than the engineers had initially feared, allowing the restoration project to stay within budget.”
SynonymsAntonymsunfortunatelyunluckily - 04 C2 Proficiency
by chance or maybe.
by chance or happenstance. This sense is restricted to older texts and formal literary contexts.
Simple“If happily you should meet him on your travels, give him my regards.”
In context“Should you happily find the lost manuscript among those dusty archives, the discovery would rewrite the history of the entire period.”
UsageIn modern English, 'perhaps' or 'by chance' is used instead; this sense is almost exclusively found in 19th-century literature or earlier.
Synonymsperchancemaybe
From Middle English happily, happyly, happyliche, happylyche, equivalent to happy + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.