I. ˈglad, -aa(ə)-, -ai- adjective
( usually gladder usually gladdest )
Etymology: Middle English, shining, glad, from Old English glæd; akin to Old High German glat shining, smooth, Old Norse glathr glad, sunny, Latin glaber bald, smooth, Russian gladkiĭ smooth, and perhaps to Old English geolu yellow — more at yellow
1. archaic : having a cheerful or happy disposition by nature
2.
a. : experiencing pleasure, joy, or delight through some immediate cause : made happy : filled with joy
if you are happy, I am glad
glad that they succeeded
glad at the announcement
were glad to meet him
b.
(1) : gratified, satisfied , pleased
both his high-school friends were glad of his company — William Du Bois
(2) : not at all sorry : quite without regret or remorse
they got what they deserved and I'm glad of it
c. : very willing : quite content
glad to do anything you say
3.
a.
(1) : marked by, expressive of, or caused by happiness and joy
a glad countenance
up we climb with glad exhilaration — John Muir †1914
the others gave a glad shout — Francis Shean
(2) : surrounded by or attended with happiness and joy
a glad occasion
b. : causing happiness and joy
the glad news was flashed through the encampment — F.V.W.Mason
: pleasant , cheering
the same glad assurance of meeting again — W.W.Howells
4. : full of brightness and cheerfulness : having a beautiful radiance
a glad spring morning
Synonyms:
happy , cheerful , lighthearted , joyful , joyous : glad is generally the opposite of sad and gloomy; it indicates a degree of pleasure ranging from pleased satisfaction to elation
always gleeful and jocular, even as afterward his entire saintly life was glad with an invincible gaiety of spirit — H.O.Taylor
In cursory conventional expressions it indicates gratification or lack of reservation or regret
I shall be glad of your company — G.B.Shaw
happy , often interchangeable with glad , may imply a more positive and demonstrative sense of well-being, satisfaction, and enjoyment
like most men with a happy family life, it was no hardship for him to be alone — H.S.Canby
all the delightful signs of their happy intimacy — Morley Callaghan
cheerful suggests lively, hearty, and optimistic good spirits arising from a naturally sanguine disposition or from some particular cause of happiness
they [suicidal attempts] could not enter the cheerful, sanguine, courageous scheme of life … in part natural to her — Havelock Ellis
as cheerful as could be expected, for his broken leg was knitting nicely — Jack London
lighthearted suggests a carefree, debonair, easygoing freedom from concern giving rise to lively mirth
the gayest of worried people in Europe … they can be lighthearted in the midst of misery and joke at their own expense — H.J.Forman
lighthearted optimistic libertarianism — M.R.Cohen
joyful and joyous are very close together in indicating joy, marked happiness, high pleasure, elation; joyous may hint a more lasting or more certain elated happiness, joyful a more demonstrative happiness arising from a particular cause
a bright and happy Christian, a romping optimist, who laughed away sin and doubt, a joyful Puritan — Sinclair Lewis
thou with the smile on thy face and the joyful eyes and clear — William Morris
that joyous serenity we think belongs to a better world than this — Sir Winston Churchill
a joyous, lighthearted, and hilarious mode of life which offered a strong contrast to the more sober lives of New England — C.A. & Mary Beard
II. verb
( gladded ; gladded ; gladding ; glads )
Etymology: Middle English gladen, from Old English gladian, from glæd
transitive verb
archaic : to make glad
intransitive verb
obsolete : to be glad
III. adverb
Etymology: glad (I)
archaic : gladly
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: by shortening
: gladiolus 1 b