hap·py (h?p??)adj. hap·pi·er, hap·pi·est 1. Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy. See Synonyms at glad.2. Cheerful; willing: happy to help.3. Characterized by good luck. See Synonyms at fortunate.4. Being especially well-adapted; felicitous: a happy turn of phrase.5. a. Characterized by a spontaneous or obsessive inclination to use something. Often used in combination: trigger-happy.b. Enthusiastic about or involved with to a disproportionate degree. Often used in combination: money-happy; clothes-happy.[Middle English, from hap, luck; see hap.]hap?pi·ly adv.hap?pi·ness n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.hap?pi?ness (?hæp i n?s) n. 1. the quality or state of being happy. 2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy. [1520?30] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.hapless, happiness – Hapless means one is lacking hap, “good fortune, luck”; the words happy and happiness also have the root “hap.”See also related terms for luck.Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.HappinessSee also attitudes; moods ataraxiaa state of tranquility free from anxiety and emotional disturbance. ? ataractic, ataraxic, adj.athedoniaan inability to be happy. ? athedonic, adj.cheromaniaan extreme love for gaiety.cherophobiaan abnormal fear of gaiety.eudemonics, eudaemonics1. an art or means of acquiring happiness; eudemonism.2. the theory of happiness. ? eudemonia, n. ? eudemonic, eudemonical, adj.eudemonism, eudaemonismEthics. a moral system based upon the performance of right actions to achieve happiness. ? eudemonist, eudaemonist, n.euphoria, euphory1. a state of happiness and well-being.2. Psychiatry. an exaggerated state of happiness, with no foundation in truth or reality. ? euphoric, adj.jocunditythe quality or condition of being merry or cheerful. ? jocund, adj.jovialistObsolete, a person who leads a merry life.joviality1. the quality or state of being merry or jovial.2. festivity.jucundityObsolete. the condition or act of being pleasant.macarismthe practice of making others happy through praise and felicitation. ? macarize, v.-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.