GLEEFULLY Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

gleefully

adverb

as in cheerfully

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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 gleefully After slowly changing the theatrical underworld as the king of midnight movies, Curry spent the rest of his acting career gleefully refusing to be pinned down. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Aug. 2026 Curry, who died Tuesday at 80, made a gleefully evil turn as a clown that sparked nightmares for legions of Gen X and millennial viewers that continue to haunt to this day. — Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 Lydon, the singer, was smart, gobby and gleefully provocative, which endeared him to the band’s manager, Malcolm McLaren, a fashion designer who’d briefly managed the New York Dolls. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 23 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, donning night-vision giggles, Knoxville gleefully attacks them with trash can lids and tasers. — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026 The woman got up on their table and gleefully pretended to tap dance, drawing an amused crowd of onlookers. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Chopping up their parents and teachers has never been so much fun as these kids take command gleefully and with joy as the ice cream man (actor Ari Millen in a dialogue-less performance) leads the band. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 3 Aug. 2026 At a time when politicians are gleefully using AI to defame and attack opponents, verifying the truth shouldn’t come with a cooldown period. — ArsTechnica, 29 July 2026 Especially since so many of the people claiming to be offended by the art in my book are also gleefully distributing it far and wide to get their mailing lists angry and engaged. — Literary Hub, 23 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gleefully

Adverb

Wagoner eventually recovers and the two cheerfully finish the song to applause.

— Stephanie Vander Wel, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026
At the top end, suites are spacious and cheerfully appointed, with smartly outfitted living rooms, double sinks in the bathrooms, robes, and patterned ceramics.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of cheerfully

Adverb

His daughter yelps delightedly as a calf wanders close to the fence.

— Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 16 May 2026
Since the end of the Second World War, the United States and its allies had maintained a system of humanitarian interventionism, until the President so delightedly detonated it.

— Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026

Definition of delightedly

Adverb

In 2016, Brexiteers imagined that other European countries would follow their example and cheerily recover absolute sovereignty as liberated nation-states.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Ashley Graham, co-founder of Lucci Lambrusco, cheerily celebrates the brand at Pizzeria Portofino in Chicago on July 15.

— Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026

Definition of cheerily

Adverb

But those scenes of coming together joyously around this team, this diverse team, this remarkable team from all points, [Folarin] Balogun himself a birthright citizen leading this.

— Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
At the same time, the episode still leaves space for slower beats, including some joyously non-essential downtime moments.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 July 2026

Definition of joyously

Adverb

As the jingle continues, the surrounding people come together, joyfully singing with Kelce while holding containers of urine.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 19 Aug. 2026
Do not go lightly, but go joyfully because riding the tundra mountain wilderness may be your ultimate connection with the natural world—and your role in it as a legitimate hunter.

— Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of joyfully

Adverb

Spending more time crafting weak-salsa anti-Latino jokes than improving the lives of Latinos — that’s the racist swamp the president and his team happily fester in.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Leaving him was necessary, and the woman is now happily remarried.

— David H. Rosmarin, Time, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of happily

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gleeful

gleefully

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“Gleefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gleefully. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of gleefully

adverb

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