In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. In this series of language tips to accompany the Real Vocabulary theme we look at how you can expand your vocabulary in English by using different words and expressions instead of core vocabulary items.
This set of language tips will explore the words and phrases we use to talk about feelings. This week’s tip looks at adjectives used for describing things that make someone feel happy:
joyful causing happy feelings:
a joyful occasion ♦ The musical is a joyful celebration of the power of love.
satisfying making you feel pleased or happy:
a very satisfying result ♦ The film builds to a highly satisfying conclusion.
cheering making you feel happier and less worried:
This is very cheering news.
heartening making you feel happier and more hopeful, especially because a problem has been resolved:
It is heartening to see that our efforts are meeting with success.
Did you know that Macmillan Dictionary includes a full thesaurus? This page lists more ways to talk about ‘making someone feel happy or happier‘.
More language tips
Browse the list under the ‘language tips‘ tag here on the blog for more useful language tips.
Would you like to improve your vocabulary? Follow our daily tweets @MacDictionary or visit our Facebook Page.
Email this Post
“Making someone feel happy” sounds like a very nice – and suitably seasonal language tip. A thesaurus entry for words like happy is a good start, but it may not make many people happy!
I was perhaps expecting too much, but I thought there might be a list of ways to make people happy with language – greetings, compliments, expressing sympathy, agreeing, thanking, offering… And how to express these!
As I write this, I realise it would be too much for one entry – but maybe good for a series?
Hello Jim! thanks for your comment and suggestion. As you say it is beyond the scope of a thesaurus entry, but a good idea for a series. We could all do with a little more happiness.