glee

glee — noun

1. a strong feeling of happiness and lively excitement, often experienced when some

1.nounB2
Definition

a strong feeling of happiness and lively excitement, often experienced when something good happens to you or when someone you compete with fails or has trouble.

Example

The children clapped their hands with glee when they saw the mountain of birthday presents.

collocation: with glee

Christopher could barely hide his glee after scoring the winning goal in the final minute.

pattern: glee after [event]

Common collocations
  • with glee
  • to someone's glee
  • glee at/over something
  • shriek/cry/shout of glee
  • barely hide one's glee
  • unable to contain one's glee
Synonyms
  • delight

    warmer, less competitive — delight can apply to any pleasure, while glee often hints at a sense of victory or relief

  • joy

    deeper and more lasting; joy is a broader emotion, while glee is briefer and more energetic

  • elation

    more formal and intense; elation suggests extreme happiness, while glee is lighter

  • exhilaration

    focuses on excited energy and thrill; glee can include triumph over others, which exhilaration does not

Antonyms
  • sorrow

    deep sadness, the opposite of any kind of happiness

  • disappointment

    the let-down feeling when something good does not happen

Grammar Patterns

glee at/over something

with glee

to someone's glee

Usage Note

Often describes an emotional reaction that is openly expressed — through laughter, clapping, shouting, or other visible excitement. Less common in formal academic writing.

Common Mistakes

I feel glee to see you.
I feel delighted to see you.
'glee' is a noun, not an adjective; use 'delighted' or 'thrilled' for this structure.
She had a glee about the news.
She was filled with glee at the news.
'glee' is uncountable; use 'filled with glee' or 'full of glee'.

Word family

  • gleeful
    adjectiveB2
  • gleefully
    adverbB2
  • gleefulness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Glee, delight, joy, elation, and exhilaration all describe positive emotions, but they differ in intensity, duration, and connotation. Glee is the most specific — it is a short, energetic burst of happiness often tied to a particular outcome, such as winning or receiving good news, and can carry a hint of triumph at someone else's failure (though that is not required). Delight is warmer and more personal, suggesting quiet or gentle pleasure (e.g. delight in a child's laughter). Joy is deeper and more enduring, used for long-term happiness or spiritual contentment. Elation is more formal and intense, suggesting a soaring, euphoric high. Exhilaration focuses on excited energy and thrill — the rush of riding a roller coaster is exhilarating, not gleeful. Use glee when you want to emphasise the lively, sometimes mischievous, outward expression of happiness.

delight ↗joy ↗elation ↗exhilaration

Common collocations

Nouns

  • shriek of glee
  • cry of glee
  • shout of glee
  • look of glee
  • feeling of glee

Phrases

  • filled with glee
  • full of glee
  • unable to contain one's glee
  • barely hide one's glee

Prepositions

  • with glee
  • at/over
  • to someone's glee

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Glee comes from Old English glēo, meaning 'joy, music, entertainment.' It is related to the Old Norse glȳ (joy) and the German Glück (luck, happiness). In the 1600s the word also developed a musical meaning — a type of short unaccompanied part-song — though that sense is now rare and technical. The modern everyday sense of 'excited happiness, especially at a good outcome' has been in continuous use since the Old English period.