gladden

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈɡlædən/ UK /ˈɡlædən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make glad or joyful

The news of her recovery gladdened the whole family.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make glad or joyful cheer delight please elate brighten hearten

Opposites

sadden depress dishearten grieve

Word family

Derived forms gladdenedgladdening

Related forms glad gladly gladness

Etymology

From glad + -en. Glad is from Old English glæd ('bright, cheerful'), from Proto-Germanic *gladaz ('shining, smooth, glad').

glæd Old English *gladaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# gladden

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡlædən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡlædən/

## Meanings
1. to make glad or joyful

## Examples
- The news of her recovery gladdened the whole family.

## Synonyms
- cheer
- delight
- please
- elate
- brighten
- hearten

## Antonyms
- sadden
- depress
- dishearten
- grieve

## Derived Forms
- gladdened
- gladdening

## Related Forms
- glad
- gladly
- gladness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: glæd
- Root: *gladaz

## Etymology
From glad + -en. Glad is from Old English glæd ('bright, cheerful'), from Proto-Germanic *gladaz ('shining, smooth, glad').

## AI Etymology
Gladden comes from glad + -en. Glad is from Old English glæd ('bright, cheerful'), from Proto-Germanic *gladaz ('shining, smooth, glad'). The suffix is part of the word's derivational shape, marking the final grammatical or semantic role while the base supplies the central meaning. As a verb, it means "to make glad or joyful", so the modern sense keeps the older action or relation visible. Relevant historical forms include Old English glæd and Proto-Germanic *gladaz. Derivative forms include gladdened, gladdening; related words include glad, gladly, gladness.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown