Happily vs Pleasantly - What's the difference?
happily | pleasantly | Related terms |
(archaic) By chance; perhaps.
*, II.12:
By good chance; fortunately, successfully.
In a happy or cheerful manner; with happiness.
* 1808 , Daniel Defoe, The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe , Minerva Press for Lane and Newman, page 311:
With good will; in all happiness; willingly.
In a pleasant manner; so as to achieve a pleasant result.
(degree) Lightly
(obsolete) Ludicrously.
Happily is a related term of pleasantly.
As adverbs the difference between happily and pleasantly
is that happily is (archaic) by chance; perhaps while pleasantly is in a pleasant manner; so as to achieve a pleasant result.happily
English
Adverb
(en adverb)- And who knoweth whether a thousand yeares hence a third opinion will rise, which happily shall overthrow these two precedents?
- And thus I have given the first part of a life of fortune and adventure, a life of Providence's chequer-work, and of a variety which the world will seldom be able to shew the like of: beginning foolishly, but closing much more happily than any part of it ever gave me leave to much as to hope for.
pleasantly
English
Alternative forms
* pleasauntlie (obsolete) * plesantlie (obsolete) * pleasauntly (obsolete) * plesantly (obsolete) * plesauntly (obsolete)Adverb
(en adverb)- He smiled pleasantly at passersby.
- They were pleasantly surprised at the result.