joy

noun

A feeling of extreme happiness or cheerfulness, especially related to the acquisition or expectation of something good.

Anything that causes such a feeling.

Luck or success; a positive outcome.

A female given name from English.

A surname.

(obsolete) The sign or exhibition of joy; gaiety; merriment; festivity.

verb

(intransitive) To feel joy, to rejoice.

(transitive, archaic) To enjoy.

(transitive, obsolete) To give joy to; to congratulate.

(transitive, obsolete) To gladden; to make joyful; to exhilarate.

Roots

gaudiumjoy- · Latin · joy, delight

Synonyms & related words for joy

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of joy — including joyfulness, joyousness, joyance, delight, gladness, rejoice. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to joy

Explore words related to joy — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include pleasure, exhilarant, joyful, overjoy, gladden, joyous, jubilation, exultation. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for joy

Common synonyms for joy include joyfulness, joyousness, joyance, delight, gladness, rejoice, elation, exhilaration — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does joy come from?

The word joy breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root joy-, from Latin gaudium (“joy, delight”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.