different between heavenly vs blissful

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?h?v?nli/

Etymology

From Middle English heuenly, hevenly, heofonlich, from Old English heofonl?? (“heavenly, celestial; chaste”); equivalent to heaven +? -ly.

Adjective

heavenly (comparative heavenlier or more heavenly, superlative heavenliest or most heavenly)

1. Of or pertaining to the heaven believed in by many religions.
2. Synonym of celestial: of or pertaining to the heavens, the sky regarded as the realm of the sun, moon, planets, and stars.
3. Of or pertaining to the kingdom of God; divine.
   • 1817, Charles Phillips (author-editor), Speech in the Case of O?Mullan v. M?Korkill, The Speeches of Charles Phillips, page 131,

     No doubt, you have all personally considered — no doubt, you have all personally experienced, that of all the blessings which it has pleased Providence to allow us to cultivate, there is not one which breathes a purer fragrance, or bears an heavenlier aspect than education.

4. Strongly or sublimely beautiful or pleasurable.

   Oh, please continue giving me a massage – it?s absolutely heavenly.

   • 1880, Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad, The Works of Mark Twain: Authorized Uniform Edition, Volume 1, page 19,

     So he flew down and got that acorn, and fetched it up and dropped it in, and was just tilting his head back, with the heavenliest smile on his face, when all of a sudden he was paralyzed into a listening attitude and that smile faded gradually out of his countenance like breath off?n a razor, and the queerest look of surprise took its place.

Synonyms

• (of or pertaining to the heaven of any of many religions): celestial; celest (obsolete); paradisal, paradisaical, paradisaic, paradisic (inexact)
• (of or pertaining to the Kingdom of God): divine, spiritual
• (strongly or sublimely beautiful or pleasurable): beatific, blissful, divine, delightful, wonderful

Translations

Adverb

heavenly (comparative more heavenly, superlative most heavenly)

1. In a manner like that of heaven; by the influence or agency of heaven; divinely, miraculously.
2. To a degree such as to elicit great pleasure.

Derived terms

English

Alternative forms

• blissfull (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English blisful, bislvol, equivalent to bliss +? -ful.

Adjective

blissful (comparative more blissful, superlative most blissful)

1. Extremely happy; full of joy; experiencing, indicating, causing, or characterized by bliss.
   • 1738, Samuel Johnson, "London: A Poem in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal", lines 25-26,

     In pleasing dreams the blissful age renew,

     And call Britannia's glories back to view;

   • 1983, James Hijiya, "American Gravestones and Attitudes toward Death: A Brief History," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 127, no. 5., page 349,

     New England carvers between the 1720s and the 1750s transformed, step by step, the winged skull into the winged face, adding flesh to bare bone and turning the toothy grin of death into the blissful smile of a saved soul.

2. (obsolete) Blessed; glorified.
   • c1387, Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Prioress' Tale," in The Canterbury Tales,

     Thus had this widow her little son y-taught

     Our blissful Lady, Christe's mother dear,

     To worship aye

Usage notes

"Blissful" occasionally has the extra connotation that a person is extremely happy because he or she fails to recognize or accept certain adversities or other harsh realities.

Synonyms

• ecstatic
• elated
• euphoric
• joyful
• orgasmic
• overjoyed
• rapturous
• on cloud nine
• See also Thesaurus:blissful

Derived terms

• blissfully
• blissfulness

Translations

References

• blissful in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “blissful”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)

Anagrams

• fullsibs