/hap"ee nis/ , n.
1. the quality or state of being happy.
2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.
[ 1520-30; HAPPY + -NESS ]
Syn. 1, 2. pleasure, joy, exhilaration, bliss, contentedness, delight, enjoyment, satisfaction. HAPPINESS, BLISS, CONTENTMENT, FELICITY imply an active or passive state of pleasure or pleasurable satisfaction. HAPPINESS results from the possession or attainment of what one considers good: the happiness of visiting one's family. BLISS is unalloyed happiness or supreme delight: the bliss of perfect companionship. CONTENTMENT is a peaceful kind of happiness in which one rests without desires, even though every wish may not have been gratified: contentment in one's surroundings. FELICITY is a formal word for happiness of an especially fortunate or intense kind: to wish a young couple felicity in life.
Ant. 1. misery.