happily ever after
/ˈhæpəli ˌɛvəɹ‿ˈæftəɹ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.09 in modern English
32
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
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.
noun
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.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "I might find somewhere where I can finish my book. I have thought of a nice ending for it: and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days."
- "After Pygmalion came back to consciousness, he proposed to his perfect woman. They got married, had a few kids, and lived happily ever after. The weird thing, though? The stories don't even tell us what the ivory girl's name was."
- "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."
- "In the real world, there are no happily ever afters, no storybook endings. We must always fight intolerance and fanaticism."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhæpəli ˌɛvəɹ‿ˈæftəɹ/
- British English: /ˈhæpɪli ˌɛvəɹ‿ˈɑːftə/