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blitheful

 - 2 dictionary results

blithe

  [blahyth, blahyth]
Use blitheful in a Sentence
–adjective, blith⋅er, blith⋅est.
1. joyous, merry, or gay in disposition; glad; cheerful: Everyone loved her for her blithe spirit.
2. without thought or regard; carefree; heedless: a blithe indifference to anyone's feelings.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE blīthe; c. ON blīthr, OHG blīdi, Goth bleiths

Related forms:
blitheful, adjective
blithe⋅ful⋅ly, adverb
blithely, adverb
blitheness, noun

Synonyms:
1. happy, mirthful, sprightly, light-hearted, buoyant, joyful, blithesome.

Antonyms:
1. joyless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

blithe 
O.E. bliþe "joyous, kind," from P.Gmc. *blithiz "gentle, kind" (cf. O.S. bliði "bright, happy," O.N. bliðr "mild, gentle," O.H.G. blidi "gay, friendly," Goth. bleiþs "kind, friendly, merciful"). Rare since 16c. No cognates outside Gmc. "The earlier application was to the outward expression of kindly feeling, sympathy, affection to others, as in Gothic and ON.; but in OE. the word had come more usually to be applied to the external manifestation of one's own pleased or happy frame of mind, and hence even to the state itself." [OED]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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