glee

noun

ˈglē How to pronounce glee (audio)
Definition of gleenext
as in cheerfulness
a mood characterized by high spirits and amusement and often accompanied by laughter the evident glee with which the tabloids report on the misfortunes of celebrities

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of glee Alice slowly gets Marshall to lie on the floor, grabs the bottle of whiskey, and pours it into his mouth with glee. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026 Republicans are rubbing their hands in glee at the neocommunist advance in their opposing party. — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 To the director’s glee, modern audiences may be more uncomfortable with Erika and Elliot’s lopsided power dynamic than the sight of sweet-faced Hoffman in a pig mask and panties. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026 Neither his Democratic critics nor the Republicans who seem to be awaiting his nomination with glee are apt to make that distinction for Michigan voters. — Russell Berman, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for glee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for glee
  1. cheerfulness
  2. cheer
  3. festivity
  4. mirth
Noun
  • The service Professionalism comes with genuine warmth, cheerfulness, and a sense of people absolutely loving their jobs.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Kikuko sometimes mistook Shigejiro’s cheerfulness for egoism owing to the distortions produced by her illness.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of cheerfulness
Noun
  • The Gators’ first-year coach will exit the south end zone tunnel Saturday night under the lights — and the microscope — while showered by cheers as a new era of Florida football begins against Florida Atlantic.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Then came a wave of cheers, gasps and laughter as roughly 2,500 people took their shots nearly in unison.
    — Eva Remijan-Toba, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of cheer
Noun
  • In lieu of festivities, tens of thousands of people took to the streets Wednesday across Spain to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, demanding solutions and blaming Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for his government's handling of it.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Wedding festivities took place over four days and began in a city hundreds of miles away, to which my wife and I traveled.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of festivity
Noun
  • Their pairing begs the question of whether misery and mirth alternate, blend, or coexist.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
  • There’s a fair bit of mirth in all this, and in Glanz’s brittle, snippy dialogue, which is abetted by the casting.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 4 June 2026
Definition of mirth

Phrases Containing glee

Browse Nearby Words

gleans
glee
glee club
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Glee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glee. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on glee

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about glee

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All