glee means joy; happiness; great delight, especially from one's own good fortune or from another's misfortune. It carries an Arena rating of 1604, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, glee ranks #1,581 of 14,451 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,574 of 14,448 for Funniest Words, #2,737 of 14,445 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,693 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
glee is pronounced /ɡliː/.
Why “glee” is a great word
Great delight or joy, often exultant and sometimes mischievous, and historically an unaccompanied part song for three or more voices. From Middle English gle, from Old English glēo, glīġ, glēow, glīw ("glee, pleasure, mirth, play, sport; music"), from Proto-West Germanic *glīw, from Proto-Germanic *glīwą ("joy, mirth"), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰlew- ("to joke, make fun, enjoy"); the word was obsolete by 1500 but revived in the late 18th century. Unlike schadenfreude, a clinical import for malicious joy, or jubilation, which implies triumphant fanfare, glee is a native, quieter exultation—the childish smirk at a sibling’s spilled milk, the conspiratorial grin over an unspoken joke, or the crystalline interweaving of voices in a candlelit room, a small, bright flame of satisfaction nearly lost to the ages and joyfully reclaimed.
Etymology
From Middle English gle, from Old English glēo, glīġ, glēow, glīw (“glee, pleasure, mirth, play, sport; music; mockery”), from Proto-West Germanic *glīw, from Proto-Germanic *glīwą (“joy, mirth”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰlew- (“to joke, make fun, enjoy”).
Cognate with Scots gle, glie, glew (“game, play, sport, mirth, joy, rejoicing, entertainment, melody, music”), Icelandic glý (“joy, glee, gladness”), Ancient Greek χλεύη (khleúē, “joke, jest, scorn”). A poetic word in Middle English, the word was obsolete by 1500, but revived late 18c.
noun
- Joy; happiness; great delight, especially from one's own good fortune or from another's misfortune.“I watched with glee while your kings and queens fought for ten decades for the gods they made.”
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- An unaccompanied part song for three or more solo voices, not necessarily merry.“Sometimes they had glees, when Captain Strong’s chest was of vast service, and he boomed out in a prodigious bass, of which he was not a little proud.”
verb
- To sing a glee (unaccompanied part song).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- mirth 85% match — The emotion usually following humor and accompanied by laughter. vs glee →
- winne 84% match — Joy; delight; pleasure. vs glee →
- frolic 84% match — Merry, joyous, full of mirth; later especially, frolicsome, sportive, full of playful mischief. vs glee →
- gladness 83% match — The state of being glad; joy. vs glee →
- exultation 83% match — The act of exulting; great joy at success or victory, or at any advantage gained; rapturous delight vs glee →
- jubilation 83% match — A triumphant shouting of great happiness; rejoicing, especially as celebratory outbursts; a feeling of joyous exultation. vs glee →
- jollity 83% match — The state of being jolly; jolliness, cheerfulness. vs glee →
- delight 83% match — Joy; pleasure. vs glee →