blithe

(blīth, blīth)

adj. blith·er, blith·est

1. Carefree and lighthearted.

2. Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; casual: spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation.

[Middle English, from Old English blīthe.]

blithe′ly adv.

blithe′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

blitheness - a feeling of spontaneous good spirits; "his cheerfulness made everyone feel better"

cheerfulness

happiness - emotions experienced when in a state of well-being

buoyancy, perkiness - cheerfulness that bubbles to the surface

carefreeness, insouciance, lightheartedness, lightsomeness - the cheerful feeling you have when nothing is troubling you

blitheness

noun

A state of joyful exuberance:

blithesomeness, gaiety, glee, gleefulness, hilarity, jocoseness, jocosity, jocularity, jocundity, jolliness, jollity, joviality, lightheartedness, merriment, merriness, mirth, mirthfulness.

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References in periodicals archive

In the Met's exhibition catalogue, art historian Emily Braun concludes that 'the blitheness of his performance might make us shudder'.

Happy medium: Lucio Fontana's ceramics reveal his most disciplined side

This politico-existential, Jean Genet-like, envy of the Maids against the charitable, well-meaning Madam may be targeting the blitheness of the invulnerable who are about to have a taste of their own medicine.

TERROR(OLOGY) IN THE TIME OF "COSMOPOLITANISM"

Notably, Aschenbach's Apollonian upbringing did not offer the youthful blitheness that he admires in Tadzio, he had "never known youth's idleness, its carefree negligent ways," nor had he enjoyed the conventional male-male camaraderie that he observes between Tadzio and Jasiu.

The representation of instinctive homosexuality and immoral narcissism in Gide's the Immoralist (1902) and Mann's Death in Venice (1912)

One article describes the crowd as containing "Christmas revelers," with a suggestion of passivity and blitheness to their imminent fate (Denson, 2013d, p.

Entrapment as a Threat to Community Peace in the Global War on Terror: An Analysis of Discourse in Local Press

blitheness. [...] It was like walking in one of those autumn mists when

IMPOTENCE, RECOVERY, AND THE HONORABLE BEAST: THE AESTHETICS OF THE FOURTH DIMENSION IN THE VIRGIN AND THE GIPSY

There is a certain blitheness to the conversations around the current disruption, a kind of "great cycle of life" belief that the old institutions will be weakened and that the new institutions will then automatically take their place.

Post-industrial journalism: adapting to the present

As mentioned before, the Trojans basically bubble over with carefree blitheness in the first half of the poem.

Troy in the Troilus and Criseyde

Josie was like that too, in her blitheness, how she acted like the world was her friend.

CONFEDERATE WALL

Yvette had some of the vague, careless blitheness of She-who-was-Cynthia" (7).

The performativity of literature and its ethical engagements in D. H. Lawrence's The Virgin and the Gipsy

Moreover, the blitheness of the proposal to eliminate the express requirement hardly contributes to any transparency aim.

Alternate judges as sine qua nons for international criminal trials

If you would enjoy your youth, blitheness of limb and cheer of spirits, bathe frequently ...

Worcester's first flush toilet

However, it is done with a blitheness, and often with a lack of self-awareness, that religion in some of its forms deliberately seems to promote, preferring half a loaf of adherence to no bread.

Railing against the Gods (or at least their religions)