blithely

- 3 dictionary results

blithe

[blahyth, blahyth]

–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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Link To blithely

blithe (blīth, blīth)

adj. blith·er, blith·est

Carefree and lighthearted.
Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; casual: spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation.

[Middle English, from Old English blīthe.]
blithe'ly adv., blithe'ness n.

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]

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