Phrase guide

happy ever after

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Synonym of happily ever after (“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”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, narratology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: eucatastrophe, fairy-tale ending, happy ending, happily ever after

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Synonym of happily 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”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fairy-tale ending, happily ever after

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From happily ever after (adverb).