Felicity
n.joyful, calmliterary
Meaning 1
A state of deep or serene happiness.
Reach for it when naming sustained happiness in an elevated voice
The reunion brought her a quiet sense of felicity.
Choose between these
4- everyday
the emotional state should sound direct
not when Happiness lacks felicity's serene elevated tone.
- warm
quiet satisfaction matters more than delight
not when Contentment can exist without the pleasure carried here.
- warm
strong positive feeling is vivid and immediate
not when Joy can be sudden rather than settled.
- literary
complete happiness is intended
not when Bliss is stronger and may sound romantic or spiritual.
Meaning 2
A quality of expression or choice that is notably apt and pleasing.
Reach for it when praising graceful accuracy in language or execution
Critics admired the felicity of the final translation.
Choose between these
4- professional
exact wording matters more than charm
not when Precision alone may produce cold prose.
- formal
aptness
precise suitability is the point
not when Aptness says little about elegance.
- formal
expressive power deserves praise
not when Eloquence can be forceful without being exactly suited.
- literary
effortless beauty of expression is central
not when Grace is broad and can refer to movement or theology.
Said against
3- misery
- sorrow
- inelegance
It naturally appears in
3- domestic felicity
The novel closes with a scene of domestic felicity.
- sense of felicity
A quiet sense of felicity settled over the reunited friends.
- felicity of expression
The essay's felicity of expression makes a complex claim memorable.
Where this comes from
- wiktionary, English noun sense: happiness opens in a new tab for meaning 1 · retrieved 2026-07-26
- wiktionary, English noun sense: aptness of expression opens in a new tab for meaning 2 · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.