joy
/dʒɔɪ
/noun [mass noun]
1A feeling of great pleasure and happiness: tears of joy the joy of being alive...
- My head rang with pain but I was alive, and the thought made me want to jump for joy.
- I wanted to jump for joy as I followed him out of the parking lot and up to the front of school.
- She packed up her flute and left the band room, wanting to run in to a corner and jump for joy.
Synonyms
delight, great pleasure, joyfulness, jubilation, triumph, exultation, rejoicing, happiness, gladness, glee, exhilaration, ebullience, exuberance, elation, euphoria, bliss, ecstasy, transports of delight, rapture, radiance;
enjoyment, gratification, felicity;
cloud nine, seventh heaven;
French joie de vivre
humorous delectation
literary joyousness
rare jouissance, ravishment, jocundity
pleasure, source of pleasure, delight, treat, thrill
informal buzz, kick
1.1 [count noun] A thing that causes joy: the joys of country living...
- From her I discovered simple joys like listening for the cuckoo and hearing stories around the fire.
- One of the great joys of living in Toronto is the city's constant state of evolution.
- In spite of the indoor winter joys of heaters and comfort foods, something needs to be done.
1.2 [usually with negative] British informal Success or satisfaction: you’ll get no joy out of her
Synonyms
success, satisfaction, luck, successful result, positive result;
accomplishment, achievement
verb [no object] literary
Rejoice: I felt shame that I had ever joyed in his discomfiture or pain...
- It took 52 years for Sri Lanka to do it - when Susanthika mounted the medal ceremony podium on Thursday night to receive her bronze, millions of Sri Lankans around the world joyed in jubilation.
Phrases
be full of the joys of spring
wish someone joy
Origin
Middle English: from Old French joie, based on Latin gaudium, from gaudere 'rejoice'.
Joy is from Old French joie, based on Latin gaudium, from gaudere ‘rejoice’. In rejoice (Middle English) the re- makes the sense more intense; enjoy (Late Middle English) comes from the Old French enjoier ‘give joy to’.