happy */*/*/

UK [ˈhæpɪ] / US adjective
Word forms "happy":
adjective happy comparative happier superlative happiest

Get it right: happy:

Although the adjective happy ends in the letter "y", the related noun happiness is spelled with an "i" (not a "y"):
Wrong: Health, love, and happyness are what everyone looks for in their life.
Right: Health, love, and happiness are what everyone looks for in their life. For most other adjectives ending in "y", the same rule applies:
adjective → related noun
empty → emptiness lazy → laziness lonely → loneliness tidy → tidiness ugly → ugliness
Metaphor:
Feeling happy and hopeful is like being high up or like moving upwards. Feeling sad and unhappy is like being low down or like falling. The news lifted her spirits. ♦ Things are looking up. ♦ Cheer up! ♦ My spirits rose when I got her letter. ♦ I've been walking/floating on air ever since. ♦ I was over the moon when they told me. ♦ I felt as high as a kite. ♦ She's on top of the world/on cloud nine. ♦ I was in seventh heaven. ♦ I feel really down/low about it all. ♦ He's in very low spirits. ♦ He's in the depths of despair. ♦ My heart sank when I saw him. ♦ They looked very down in the mouth/down in the dumps. Happiness and hope are like bright light or bright colours. Sadness and lack of hope are like darkness or dark colours. The future looks very bright/rosy. ♦ She brightened up when she heard the news. ♦ His face lit up when he saw them. ♦ They had shining eyes and beaming/dazzling smiles. ♦ The bride looked radiant. ♦ You have to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. ♦ He was in a black mood. ♦ I was feeling blue. ♦ There's no point in having these dark thoughts. ♦ His face darkened. ♦ They led a grey empty existence. ♦ I'm afraid the outlook is very gloomy/bleak/dismal. ♦ The news cast a shadow over the evening.

1)

a) feeling pleased and satisfied

The children seem very happy at school.

Sarah felt happy for the first time in her life.

happy about:

Anna was excited and happy about the baby.

happy doing something:

So you're happy living in London?

make someone happy:

Money alone will never make you happy.

b) used about enjoyable times, events, experiences etc that make people feel happy

We wish him a very happy retirement.

a happy marriage/childhood/life

a happy ending:

I do like a film to have a happy ending!

•

Collocations:
Adverbs frequently used with happy
▪  blissfully, completely, deliriously, extremely, perfectly, really, truly, very

2) satisfied that something is good or right, and therefore not worried about it

happy with:

Are you happy with this arrangement?

happy about:

I'm not very happy about the children being out so late.

happy that:

Happy that everything had been finalized, we left.

happy to do something:

Her parents were happy to know she'd got a good job.

keep someone happy:

Rising profits is the only news that keeps the bosses happy.

reasonably/perfectly happy:

Most people were perfectly happy with the decision.

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Happy Birthday/Christmas/Easter/Anniversary — used as a greeting on a particular occasion

- be happy for someone

- be happy to do something