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glad

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glad¹

  • /ɡlæd/ US, UK
  • /ɡlad/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɡlaːd/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɡlæːd/ Australia
  • /ɡlɛd/ New Zealand
  • /ɡlad/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
  • /ˈɡlɛəd/

Sounds like GLAAD · Rhymes with -æd

Where it comes from

From Middle English glad, gled, from Old English glæd (“shining; bright; cheerful; glad”), from Proto-Germanic *gladaz (“shiny; gleaming; radiant; happy; glossy; smooth; flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰladʰ-, from *ǵʰelh₂- (“to shine”).

Cognate with Scots gled, glaid (“shining; bright; glad”), Saterland Frisian glääd (“smooth; sleek”), West Frisian glêd (“smooth”), Dutch glad (“smooth; sleek; slippery”), German glatt (“smooth; sleek; slippery”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish glad (“glad; happy; cheerful”), Icelandic glaður (“glad; joyful; cheery”), Latin glaber (“smooth; hairless; bald”), Russian гла́дкий (gládkij, “smooth”). Doublet of glatt.

adjective gladder · more glad · gladdest · most glad

  1. predicative, usually Pleased; happy; gratified. I'm glad the rain has finally stopped.
  2. obsolete, predicative, usually Having a bright or cheerful appearance; expressing or exciting joy; producing gladness. Her conversation / More glad to me than to a miser money is.

Opposite: cranky, depressed, downcast, heavy, peevish, sad, sorrowful

verb glads · gladding · gladded

  1. archaic, predicative, transitive, usually To make glad. that which gladded all the warrior train

    Similar: cheer up, gladden, exhilarate

glad²

  • /ɡlæd/ US, UK
  • /ɡlad/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɡlaːd/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɡlæːd/ Australia
  • /ɡlɛd/ New Zealand
  • /ɡlad/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
  • /ˈɡlɛəd/

Sounds like GLAAD · Rhymes with -æd

Where it comes from

Abbreviation of gladiolus.

noun glads

  1. informal, predicative, usually A gladiolus (plant). Glads are widely grown as cut flowers both in the United States and abroad.

Glad³

proper noun

  1. A diminutive of the female given name Gladys.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: happy, pleased, gladsome, cheerful, beaming, lief, grateful, thankful, willing, happiness, pleasure, delighted, joy, pleasant, pleasing, gratifying

adjective

Opposite: cranky, depressed, downcast, heavy, peevish, sad, sorrowful

Translations

Every language

adj happy, pleased, satisfied

Españolcontento, chocho, gustoso, alegre, qué bueno
한국어기쁘다 gippeuda, 반갑다 ban'gapda
日本語嬉しい ureshii
中文高興 /高兴 gāoxìng
हिन्दीप्रसन्न prasann, मुदित mudit, ख़ुश xuś, मगन magan
Portuguêsgrato, feliz, alegre, contente
Françaiscontent, heureux
Deutschfroh, fröhlich, glücklich, freudig, heilfroh
Italianolieto, soddisfatto, appagato, compiaciuto
Ελληνικάχαρούμενος charoúmenos
Românăbucuros, vesel
Русскийсчастли́вый sčastlívyj, ра́достный rádostnyj, дово́льный dovólʹnyj, рад rad
Tiếng Việtvui mừng, vui lòng, vui
العربيةفَرِح fariḥ

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MLA

"glad." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/glad. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

glad. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/glad

Chicago

"glad." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/glad.

BibTeX
@misc{glad_2026,
  title = {glad},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/glad},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}