1
a
: in a fortunate manner
It was happily the case that Mr. Crawley was not at home.—
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
b
: as it fortunately happens
Happily, some boyhood pleasures don't change.—P. A. Witteman
P. A. Witteman2
archaic
: by chance
3
a
: in a happy manner or state
happily married
… was happily shoveling a plate of ackee … into his mouth …—Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith
b
: in a very willing way
happily postponed the appointment
4
: in an adequate or fitting manner : successfully
Examples of happily in a Sentence
They have been happily married for 12 years.
They lived happily ever after.
We happily accept credit cards.
Recent Examples on the Web
In all these videos, the tiny humans happily chow down on their butter snacks.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Asked about the challenges of differentiating Net from Mytheresa, Kaminetsky argues that the two have a 10 percent customer crossover and can happily co-exist.
—Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 19 Feb. 2026
Children in the 19th century happily consumed wild plants and organ meats.
—Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
At the wedding reception, Pippa and Diana – who changed her plans and went to Yale after Stephen was rejected – are happily together.
—Pamela Avila, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for happily
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Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Asked about the challenges of differentiating Net from Mytheresa, Kaminetsky argues that the two have a 10 percent customer crossover and can happily co-exist.
—Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 19 Feb. 2026
Children in the 19th century happily consumed wild plants and organ meats.
—Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
At the wedding reception, Pippa and Diana – who changed her plans and went to Yale after Stephen was rejected – are happily together.
—Pamela Avila, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for happily
Cite this Entry
“Happily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happily. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
happily
adverb
hap·pi·ly
ˈhap-ə-lē 
1
: in a fortunate or lucky manner
happily, no one was injured
2
: in a happy manner or state
lived happily ever after
3
: in a fitting, effective, or successful manner
remarks happily worded
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