Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Being in or characterized by good spirits; merry. synonym: glad.
- adjective Promoting a feeling of cheer; pleasant.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of good cheer; having good spirits; gay; lively: said of persons.
- Cordially willing; genial in action; hearty; ungrudging.
- Characterized by or expressive of good spirits; associated with agreeable feelings; lively; animated: as, cheerful songs.
- Promoting or causing cheerfulness; gladdening; animating; genial: as, the cheerful sun; a cheerful fire.
- Synonyms Lightsome, gleeful, blithe, airy, sprightly, jocund, jolly, buoyant. See
cheery .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Having or showing good spirits or joy; cheering; cheery; contented; happy; joyful; lively; animated; willing.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Noticeably happy and
optimistic . - adjective Bright and
pleasant
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective pleasantly (even unrealistically) optimistic
- adjective being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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Someone was about to laugh, but the captain snapped: This is what I call a cheerful state of affairs.
The Metamorphosis, in The Penal Colony,and Other Stories Franz Kafka 2000
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“He is not absolutely drunk,” said Hart, “but is what he terms cheerful; that is, ripe for a row, as we say; he will, therefore, attack his wife, unless hindered; so get them off as fast as you can.”
Three Weeks in the Downs, or Conjugal Fidelity Rewarded: exemplified in the Narrative of Helen and Edmund Anonymous 1829
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Houses in cheerful colors line a street in the Mexican river port town of Tlacotalpan, Veracruz.
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But I must yield in cheerful obedience to the "powers that be"; and to warn you against the anxieties which my delay might cause in your mind, whe
Letter from Young John Allen to Mollie Houston,March 5, 1857 2008
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First Impression: Reagan is described as a cheerful chatterbox or an articulate woman.
5-Star Baby Name Advisor Bruce Lansky 2008
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Hope you would have enjoyed your long break in cheerful way.
Chunda Anjali 2006
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As soon as the rest of the company was assembled, he set meat and drink before them and, when they had well eaten and drunken and were merry and in cheerful case, he took up his discourse and recounted to them in these words the narrative of
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First Impression: Reagan is described as a cheerful chatterbox or an articulate woman.
5-Star Baby Name Advisor Bruce Lansky 2008
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And that very evening he joined with me in my retired duties; and, at all proper opportunities, favours me with his company in the same manner; listening attentively to all my lessons, as he calls my cheerful discourses on serious subjects.
Pamela 2006
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The brothers cherish memories of the home where Bess resides in cheerful domesticityreading this very letter.
Colonial Correspondence: The Letters of George Bogle from Bengal, Bhutan and Tibet, 1770-81 2000
bilby commented on the word cheerful
"I remember that time when I studied at university. It were cheerful times."
November 30, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word cheerful
People should say "it were" more often. I like it.
November 30, 2007
uselessness commented on the word cheerful
DO YE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YE'RE SAYING?!?!
WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE GRAMMAR?!?!
November 30, 2007
bilby commented on the word cheerful
Often hear this construction in English dialects. eg. "I remember Stanley Matthews, he were grand."
November 30, 2007
uselessness commented on the word cheerful
I AM FULLY AWARE OF THIS, BUT STILL IRREPRESSIBLE.
'TIS'NT RIGHT, LAD, NOT ONE MITE!!
November 30, 2007
bilby commented on the word cheerful
The disturbing yet somehow fascinating sound of uselessness blowing a gasket will probably NOT be recorded in the annals of history as cheerful.
November 30, 2007
sionnach commented on the word cheerful
They told me that West Virginia is a gourmet's paradise. Would that it were, gentle readers, would that it were.
November 30, 2007
reesetee commented on the word cheerful
Somebody throw uselessness a damp cloth to wipe his brow. ;-)
November 30, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word cheerful
USELESSNESS, THANK YOU FOR PLACING THE APOSTROPHES CORRECTLY IN "'TISN'T"!! I LIKE A MAN WHO CAN PLACE APOSTROPHES CORRECTLY!!
Edit: Oh crap... You didn't! (I'm sorry...I was just making a joke!)
November 30, 2007
reesetee commented on the word cheerful
*inserting earplugs*
November 30, 2007
uselessness commented on the word cheerful
I THOUGHT I DID!!
ON SECOND READ, IT TURNS OUT I DID'NT!!
OOPS, I DID (NOT) IT AGAIN.
MY OUTRAGED, EXTREMELY UPPERCASE DEFENSE OF GRAMMAR HAS COLLAPSED UNDER ITS OWN WEIGHT.
and i have no recourse but to shut up now
November 30, 2007
reesetee commented on the word cheerful
*removing earplugs*
November 30, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word cheerful
You know, though, uselessness... that "it were" could actually be correct in certain grammatical situations. I think it's ... subjunctive mood (?). Is that what it's called?
December 1, 2007
vanishedone commented on the word cheerful
'Would that it were' is a correct use of the subjunctive, but 'It were cheerful times' appears to be a straightforward statement about the past, hence indicative.
December 1, 2007
bilby commented on the word cheerful
Actually I was interested in the cheerful angle more than the grammar. The full passage went like this:
"I remember that time when I studied at university. It were cheerful times. Certainly study was difficult, but after study always cheerful. At us was cheerful company and we each day off went to various clubs and cafe."
I was thinking that it was an interesting overuse of cheerful. To the English native speaker's ear it sounds like overkill but in some languages and indeed some kinds of rhetoric repetition is seen as reinforcing a word rather than weakening it. And in this case it's a word which is probably not an everyday item for native English speakers.
December 1, 2007
sionnach commented on the word cheerful
What am I, invisible, in this conversation? Yes, I mean YOU, c_b!
December 1, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word cheerful
I sure can't see you. ;)
December 1, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word cheerful
... I'm not feeling very cheerful anymore ...
bilby, yes, we've once again hijacked a perfectly respectable word page by veering off into left field.
sionnach, yes, I did notice your grammatically correct usage of "it were" in the subjunctive mood. I just wasn't sure about West Virginia, so I didn't say anything.
VanishedOne, I wasn't talking about the original quotation (see note to bilby, above, re: veering), but trying to get uselessness's attention since he yelled at me for saying I like "it were." Thanks for clarifying which mood though.
and finally... reesetee... CAN YOU HEAR ME? HUH?! HEY! Oh, you took your earplugs out already.
December 1, 2007
uselessness commented on the word cheerful
Ah, yes yes, perfectly understandable, as it were.
December 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word cheerful
This is a rather screamy page, isn't it? ;-)
*keeping earplugs at the ready*
December 2, 2007