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Definition of joy

Example Sentences

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'joy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback .

Word History

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French joie , from Latin gaudia , plural of gaudium , from gaudēre to rejoice; probably akin to Greek gēthein to rejoice

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing joy

Dictionary Entries Near joy

Cite this entry.

“Joy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joy. Accessed 3 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of joy.

Kids Definition of joy (Entry 2 of 2)

More from Merriam-Webster on joy

Nglish: Translation of joy for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of joy for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about joy

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Definition Of Joy Essay

Definition essay on happiness.

Knowing they're happy for whatever reason is where i find my happiness. The feeling of happiness starts off with just a simple look at something or even someone you love. Having the feeling of happiness in your heart that slowly creeps up until you're smiling for what seems like ages. True happiness doesn't last for seconds or even minutes, it feels as though it lasts a life time.

Happiness Across Cultures

Ecstasy, nirvana, and joy. Three of just many words for the emotion of happiness. However, is there any universal definition of happiness? What is happiness? I believe there is no universal definition. I believe this because I believe happiness is relative and open for interpretation by different groups of people because of culture, socioeconomic background, and gender. Obviously when comparing two different parts of the world, say Asia and Western Europe, the value and definition will not be the same as there are cultural and religious differences in these parts of the world. Diving even deeper into that comparison is the examination of the society itself. Different socioeconomic backgrounds can have a great effect on how happiness

Joy In Pilgrims Progress

What is pure joy? Is it that fleeting feeling of happiness? Or is it the deep satisfaction that comes with knowing God? In Pilgrims Progress, Josh Bunyan follows the pilgrimage of Christian. When Christian commences his pilgrimage to the Celestial City, a heavy burden lies on his back and it is not until he runs to the cross that his burden dissolves. Many characters led Christian on his way, but many were a determent to him. In Christian’s story, my character is Joy. Joy has a miraculous meaning, a soothing spirit, and a passionate purpose. Being happy is nothing compared to being joyful.

Essay about The Happiness Project Analysis

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Everyone has their own way to find happiness. As it is a feeling, each of us has our own range and different definitions about this term. We know that there are many joyful things

An Orthodox Jewish Perspective On Happiness

The Torah contains many references to happiness and its attainment. The main word that is used to mean happiness is simcha. The Jewish people say in the daily prayers, “Serve G-d with joy” (Psalms 100:2). In Deuteronomy, G-d rebukes the Jewish nation and warns them that if they do not follow His words, they will be cursed with detailed specific punishments. G-d attributes all of these punishments to the fact that they “did not serve G-d with joy and with a good heart” (Deuteronomy, 28:47).

Happiness is often explained as a sense of well- being, joy, or contentment. I believe happiness is exactly that, but it has many factors that come into this word. Many things make people happy, such as love, becoming successful, having a family, or other things. Happiness is brought out everyday in people. For many people the littlest aspects of life are what make them content.

Happiness, what is happiness? Is it a person? A thing? Or does it something much greater than that. In the dictionary happiness is the state of being happy. Every person has a different idea on what happiness is. It doesn’t have to be just one simple thing, it could be an abundant of things together that creates happiness. Being happy and having happiness are one in the same but then again are different. Being happy is just being pleased at one thing at one time, being happy is an emotion, but having happiness is much more, it's a lifestyle.

Happiness is an emotion that can be practiced by anyone, just like all other emotions we have. There is a kind of expectation that comes attached with the term happiness, that people get intrigued, when asked the question, “are you happy?” .Happiness cannot be achieved when we want it but it can be found in unexpected moments or situations. This happens entirely when the choice is made by a person to be happy or not in that particular moment .Happiness cannot be measured in terms of success or money. It is something that is cherished in everyone’s mind as a result of constant choices made to think positively, even when we are surrounded by negativity.

Instructions Up For Three Questions Prompt Essay

Father Himes mentions that there is a difference in being happy and feeling joy. I find that it does not take very much for me to be happy in life, however it is the special moments in life that bring me joy. I am usually joyful when I am going through challenge that specifically makes me have to incorporate all my strengths. I am not talking about challenges like getting a flat tire on the freeway or dealing with plumbing issues. I am talking specifically when

Happiness is an internal feeling of the pleasure and joyful that comes from a thing that the person loves. All people want to feel happy and many of them seek for things that make them happy. However, there are two different opinions about how happiness comes. Many people find that it is choice that people can choose. On the other hand, some people think that happiness is a thing which people cannot control. Therefore, it is argued that because the contentment, the thoughts and the actions are things that the person can control and can bring to him the happiness.

Walter Mosson Be Happy Analysis

A person’s happiness can have an impact on others. People can get agitated because a group or individual is at peace or sons and daughter can be happy as a result of witnessing their parents being content. Delightment is capable of encouraging expansion of one’s knowledge. For instance, if one realizes their potential in achieving greatness in a certain subject, the satisfaction could lead to desiring to draw in more knowledge, knowing the greatness that individual can achieve. Someone who is depressed doesn’t have the motivation to achieve something positive. There are people that misinterpret or have a negative pleasure and peace of mind. That’s the incredible potential happiness

Definition Essay: Can We Really Gain Happiness?

Living a joy-filled life is too put ones hopes and expectations into unfading things...living life to dust one-self off after each fall. So what draws the line between joy and happiness? Happiness fades with each punch that life throws, but joy gains momentum with every test. Joy is going beyond a pocket full of money and living life to it's fullest. It's stopping from a busy work day to step outside and take in a deep breath. It's when you don't give up with every trying circumstance, that you appreciate your prize at the finish line. Happiness is a pursuit, but joy is the

Definition Essay On Joy

Life is found to be more favorable if one can ascertain the asymmetry between joy and happiness. Happiness is ephemeral, circumstantial, and fleeting while joy is abiding, continual, and everlasting. Joy is seen in many; the glimmer in a child’s innocent eyes, the aging countenance of a widow, the glistening faces of newlyweds, and even the mildly destitute seen roaming around the moonlit empty street corners. Everyone is accountable in safeguarding their own personal joy. As a learned emanation, joy is an aura that everyone is adept to possess, whether it is suppressed and hidden, or it radiates from within. Joy is cultivated through experience and definition and is an orientation of the soul that grants perpetual hope.

Pursue Authenticity

I believe that true happiness is being able to handle life and adversities together in a truthful way and find some connection and commonality in it, and this may not always translate to joy. It is however, authentic and when given the choice between the two, I choose

Essay about Separation Anxiety Disorder Among Children and Adolescents

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As human beings, we all have the capability of experiencing emotions and feelings. People can experience happiness,

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Definition essay on joy.

Joy is one of the few things that make the existence of mankind worthy. Joy uncovers some of the most beautiful aspects of human beings, because it is not something that we can experience due to some physical pleasure. We are able to experience joy by simply looking at the painting or spending time with the loved ones. Joy can be independent of the empirical original. Joy is not something that can be experienced due to the acts of evil. Making one suffer may cause satisfaction and pleasure but never joy. Joy is of a higher grade when compared to happiness, satisfaction, contentment and other positive feelings that a human may experience due to its more robust and immediate nature.

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It is no coincidence that joy is often tied to the religion and, to be more specific, Christianity. The religion presupposes that all having faith should rejoice in confidence that God is watching over them and is ensuring the stability and prosperity of their lives. It is difficult, however, to concede that joy is something lasting and can even go as far as to become a perpetual feeling. Due to constant appearances of new desires while the former ones are fulfilled, a human being can never be truly joyous all the time.

Why is joy of higher degree than other positive feelings that a human being is able to experience? It is always great and has a far stronger impact. It may not be long-lasting, but the feeling is very strong while it lasts. Even if it not caused by something obvious like water after thirst or food after hunger, it influences on the physical level raising the heartbeat, dilating pupils, increasing breath rate. Joy causes a remarkable influx of endorphins into the blood system. So, when can one experience this feeling?

The situations vary. Under one scenario, joy can be cause by an unexpected scenario. An unexpected piece of good news or a gift, something that catches the subject off-guard is bound to cause a stronger reaction that could be filed under “joy.” Under another scenario, joy could be derived after the person has been striving for something for a long period of time. Long wait that may involve considerable amount of effort and work can cause joy when the result is finally achieved. Joy can often be induced when there is a relationship with the loved person involved. Communication with the significant other or a new sign of acknowledgment or acceptance from the newly found love is bound to cause strong feelings. A constant in terms of causing joy is the birth of child. Such a special experience which involves the continuation of one’s family, a factual appearance of legacy immediately causes joy that goes deep into biological instinct: “I will have descendants.” Another aspect that has been mentioned briefly is the enjoyment of art be it painting, music, sculpture, or any other kind. Experiencing any work of art can cause joy over the beauty of what is seen or heard.

Joy is a remarkable feelings, because it never has any negative overtones. It can never stem from cruelty or satisfaction from the plight of others. It is always genuine and leaves a lasting impression. Just like love, it opens up the best sides of human nature and shows that we can be kind and have the capability of experiencing something with the utmost form of happiness. Joy is an extremely powerful feeling which shows us that living and existing does make sense. It ensures that we have the desire to persevere despite all odds and keep living further even if at times existing seems impossible and painful.

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Definition Essay-What Is Joy?

Show More Are you at home in joy, or is joy just a place you visit from time to time when the stars align and conditions are somehow just right? For far too many of us, joy is less like home base, and more like an infrequently visited vacation place, which we think of wistfully and longingly during the emotionally turbulent trials and tribulations of Earth life. But according to the way you are designed, you are intended to live in joy. Joy is to be your emotional "default setting"--the emotional state you naturally come back to whenever the highs and lows level out. Actually, the highs and lows aren't a part of the state in which you were designed to live--they are unique to the current tumultuous reality state in which we currently dwell here on Earth. In the reality state in which we were designed to thrive, there are no lows--just degrees of joy. So what is joy, anyway? Joy is your emotional response to higher frequency. It is catalyzed by being within the frequency range of your Spirit, the highest-frequency aspect of you. Joy is the feeling you experience when you are aligned with the Divine Design for Harmony and Wholeness, and is a sign that you are on the right track--a beacon you can use to …show more content… Heaven knows, joy is certainly more pleasurable than less-than-joy! Until now, most of us didn't understand that we had a choice to be in or out of joy; didn't understand the "mechanics" of being in joy. We were victims of our emotions--but we don't have to be. In a nutshell, here's how you came to primarily reside outside the realm of joy. This is the selfsame story as the "Fall of Man from the Garden of Eden ," and can be summed up like this: " Adam and Eve were in the Garden and all was blissful until they disregarded what God told them in favor of what the serpent was telling them, and suddenly, they found themselves in a world of hurt." That's essentially why you are absent from the realm of joy,

The Ill-Defined Plot Essay

work was precisely what he was up to with it, and indeed the reason he chose it, for if a book would be a true mirror, it must always reflect back in the direction from which it’s approached.” (Sullivan, John Jeremiah. The Best American Essays, The Ill-Defined Plot.) In the essay “The Ill-Defined Plot” John Jeremiah Sullivan, a noted essayist, describes the problems with defining the essay and concludes he can only arrive at a working definition. First, the essay’s definition is unclear because the…

Markets And Morals By Michael Sandel Analysis

Success in a Modern Society How one defines “success” can varies drastically from one person to the next. Michael Sandel and Matthew B. Crawford both tackle the issue of “success” in their individual essays, especially focusing on extrinsic verse intrinsic value and questioning what are the real true joys of life. Sandel with his writing of “Markets and Morals” tackles the issue of how money plays its role in our society. He purposes the question of where as a society we should draw the line to how…

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Joy Definition & Meaning
joy 1 of 2 noun ˈjȯi 1 : a feeling of great pleasure or happiness that comes from success, good fortune, or a sense of well-being : gladness 2 : something that gives joy a joy to behold joyless -ləs adjective joylessness noun joy 2 of 2 verb : to experience joy : rejoice More from Merriam-Webster on joy
What Is Joy?
Joy is something that we all can sense, but is very hard to describe. (Davis 26) Thesis: Joy is a deep sense of happiness and contentment. It is a love of life in its purest form. Defining Joy The first step in defining joy is to explain what joy is not. Joy is not just a feeling of elation or excitement.
Definition Of Joy Essay
Joy is a quality of the soul. Joy is realized when the personality and soul are in harmony. Joy can also be defined as the feeling or energy of love. Unconditional love is our essence and joy its expression. How does joy differ from ordinary happiness? Joy is untouched
Definition Essay On Joy
Joy is one of the few things that make the existence of mankind worthy. Joy uncovers some of the most beautiful aspects of human beings, because it is not something that we can experience due to some physical pleasure. We are able to experience joy by simply looking at the painting or spending time with the loved ones.
Definition Essay-What Is Joy?
Joy is your emotional response to higher frequency. It is catalyzed by being within the frequency range of your Spirit, the highest-frequency aspect of you.