happily ever after
Syllables: hap·pi·ly ever af·terUK/ˈhæpɪli ˌɛvəɹ‿ˈɑːftə/US/ˈhæpəli ˌɛvəɹ‿ˈæftəɹ/
happily ever after adverb: chiefly preceded by he, she, they, etc., lived: often used as a formulaic ending in fairy tales, stories for children, and similar works: in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives.
Adverb
happily ever after (not comparable)
- Chiefly preceded by he, she, they, etc., lived: often used as a formulaic ending in fairy tales, stories for children, and similar works: in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives.
- And they lived happily ever after.
- [E]xcept in our dreamiest moods, we scornfully reject the slightest hint of witchery, and yet find no difficulty in believing that the hero and heroine of the last new novel "married and lived happily ever after" the conclusion of the third volume, without the help of any fairy godmother.1881 April, Charles Grant, “The Fairyland of [William] Shakespeare”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, volume CCL, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 427
Noun
happily ever after (plural happily ever afters)
- A story, or a conclusion to a story, in which all the loose ends of the plot are tied up, and all the main characters are left in a state of contentment or happiness.
- But this is 1979: marriage once again is on a lot of minds and romantic comedies, complete with tradition and happily-ever-afters, are back in style.1979 January, “Marriage ’79: Sara & Ted”, in Edith Raymond Locke, editor, Mademoiselle, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 136, column 1
- Synonyms:
- eucatastrophe, fairy-tale ending, happy ending, happy ever after
- A happy period of time which is imagined never to end; specifically, the state of happiness in which one or more people (typically a loving couple) dwell for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives.
- In the real world, there are no happily ever afters, no storybook endings. We must always fight intolerance and fanaticism.1994 May 25, [Karen] Shepherd, “Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1995”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 103d Congress, Second...
- Disney CEO Robert Iger believes in happily-ever-afters. For two years, Disney's relationship with Pixar Animation Studios—creator of such blockbusters as "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story"—was on the rocks, soured by an epic battle of wills between former Disney chief Michael Eisner and Pixar CEO Steve...2006 January 9, David J. Jefferson, “An Incredible Marriage? Disney and Pixar’s CEO Steve Jobs Talk of Joining Forces”, in Newsweek, volume CXVII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Newsweek, Inc., →ISSN...
- Synonyms:
- fairy-tale ending, happy ever after
happily ever after meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
happily ever after in Hindi
- in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives
- उसके बाद वे ख़ुशी ख़ुशी रहने लगे uske bād ve xuśī xuśī rahne lage
happily ever after in Tamil
- in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives
- அவர்கள் மகிழ்ச்சியுடன் வாழ்ந்தார்கள் avarkaḷ makiḻcciyuṭaṉ vāḻntārkaḷ
happily ever after in Urdu
- in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives
- اس کے بعد وہ خوشی خوشی رہنے لگے us ke bād ve xuśī xuśī rahne lage
happily ever after in Bengali
- in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives
- এবং তারা পরে সুখে বসবাস করে eboṅ tara pore śukhe bosbaś kore
More languagesFewer languages
- happily ever after in Gujarati
- અને તેઓ બધા પછી સુખી રહેતા હતા ane teo badhā pachī sukhī rahetā hatā
- happily ever after in Arabic
- وَعَاشُوا عِيشَة سَعِيدَة
Examples of happily ever after in a sentence
- I have thought of a nice ending for it: and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days.1954 July 29, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “A Long-expected party”, in The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of...
- They got married, had a few kids, and lived happily ever after.2014 August 19, Rick Riordan, “You Gotta Love Aphrodite”, in Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, New York, N.Y.: Disney Hyperion Books, →ISBN, page...
Synonyms of happily ever after
Forms of happily ever after
| plural | happily ever afters |
|---|---|
| alternative form | happily-ever-after |
Origin of happily ever after
The adverb is derived from happily (adverb) + ever after (adverb), used as a formulaic ending in works for children especially since the 19th century. The noun is derived from the adverb.
Words formed from happily ever after
Words that rhyme with happily ever after
Questions about happily ever after
- What does happily ever after mean?
- Happily ever after means chiefly preceded by he, she, they, etc., lived: often used as a formulaic ending in fairy tales, stories for children, and similar works: in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives.
- What is happily ever after in Hindi?
- Happily ever after in Hindi is उसके बाद वे ख़ुशी ख़ुशी रहने लगे (uske bād ve xuśī xuśī rahne lage). See Happily ever after meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use happily ever after in a sentence?
- I have thought of a nice ending for it: and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days.
- What part of speech is happily ever after?
- Happily ever after can be an adverb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce happily ever after?
- Happily ever after is pronounced /ˈhæpɪli ˌɛvəɹ‿ˈɑːftə/ (UK).
Words near happily ever after in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: happily ever after (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-happily ever after.ogg.
Cite this entry: “happily ever after.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/happily_ever_after. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.