Gladden

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɡlædn̩/

Definitions

1. To cause someone to feel happiness or joy
2. To bring pleasure or delight to a person or group
3. To fill with cheerfulness and brighten someone's mood

Etymology: "Gladden" is simply "glad" with the verb-forming suffix "-en" added, the same ending found in "soften," "harden," and "redden." The "glad" part traces back to Old English "glæd," meaning bright, shining, or cheerful, and its ancestors reach back into Germanic roots tied to brightness rather than to the emotion we now call gladness. So the word began as a description of light before it described a mood. The suffix has a long pedigree of its own. It descends from a Proto-Germanic ending that formed verbs from adjectives, and it passed through Old English, Middle English, and West Germanic stages before settling into the form we use now. Because of this, "gladden" literally means "to make glad," following a pattern that English has used for centuries to turn qualities into actions.

Synonyms: delight, please, joy, cheer, satisfy

Antonyms: sadden, displease, upset, distress, unsettle