joyful
/ˈdʒɔɪfl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈdʒɔɪfl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈjȯi-fəl/ (ame, mw)
joyful — adjective
- joyfulpositive
- more joyfulcomparative
- most joyfulsuperlative
1. feeling or showing great happiness and pleasure, or making other people feel thi
feeling or showing great happiness and pleasure, or making other people feel this way — for example, a joyful smile, a joyful celebration, or a joyful reunion.
The bride's joyful smile lit up the entire church during the wedding ceremony.
collocation: joyful smile
Rafael's joyful laughter filled the kitchen as he baked cookies with his niece.
collocation: joyful laughter
When the final exam ended, a joyful cheer rose from the classroom.
Wei felt joyful watching the sunset over the ocean on his birthday.
The village held a joyful celebration when the new bridge was completed.
- happy
more general and far more common in everyday speech; 'happy' covers both momentary feelings and enduring states, while 'joyful' is more vivid and often describes expressions or occasions.
- delighted
typically describes a person's strong positive reaction to a specific event or piece of news; 'delighted' sounds natural in 'I'm delighted to meet you', where 'joyful' would not.
- cheerful
focuses on a bright, optimistic disposition rather than a burst of intense happiness; a cheerful person is habitually positive, while a joyful person is experiencing a surge of joy.
- elated
more formal and intense than 'joyful'; suggests an extremely high level of happiness, often after achieving something important.
用法筆記
Commonly modifies nouns that describe expressions (smile, laugh, cry), sounds (cheer, shout), or events (reunion, celebration, occasion). Much less frequent than 'happy' or 'delighted' for referring to a person's momentary reaction to a specific piece of news. For example, 'I am delighted about your promotion' sounds natural, while 'I am joyful about your promotion' is unusual.