cheerfulness

• chearfulness (obsolete)

From Middle English cherefulnes; equivalent to cheerful +‎ -ness.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɪɹfəlnəs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɪəfəlnəs/
• Hyphenation: cheer‧ful‧ness

cheerfulness (usually uncountable, plural cheerfulnesses)

1. The state of being cheerful; joy.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 12:8:

     Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giueth, let him doe it with simplicitie: hee that ruleth, with diligence: hee that sheweth mercy, with cheerefulnesse.

   • 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 16:

     The banded ones were all dressed in white gowns - a gay survival from Old Style days, when cheerfulness and May-time were synonyms - days before the habit of taking long views had reduced emotions to a monotonous average.