glad
/ɡlæd/adjective, noun
glad is spelled G-L-A-D: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Glad, the name). As an adjective, glad means “Pleased; happy; gratified” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in glad?
| Letters | 4: G-L-A-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 79 times per million words; the 1,338th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is glad?
Glad appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Glad, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce glad?
- US /ɡlæd/
- British /ɡlad/
- British /ɡlaːd/
Glad has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-glad.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-glad.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with glad
Sounds like: GLAAD (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with glad?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as glad from its last stressed vowel (/æd/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of glad
- gladder comparative
- more glad comparative
- gladdest superlative
- most glad superlative
- glads present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- gladding participle, present
- gladded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does glad mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Pleased; happy; gratified.
I'm glad the rain has finally stopped.
- 2
obsoleteHaving a bright or cheerful appearance; expressing or exciting joy; producing gladness.
noun
- 1
informalA gladiolus (plant).
verb
- 1
archaicTo make glad.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Glad in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense happy, pleased, satisfied:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | content, heureux |
| German | froh, fröhlich, glücklich, freudig, heilfroh |
| Portuguese | grato, feliz, alegre, contente |
| Spanish | contento, chocho, gustoso, alegre, qué bueno |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does glad come from?
From Middle English glad, gled, from Old English glæd (“shining; bright; cheerful; glad”), from Proto-Germanic *gladaz (“shiny; gleaming; radiant; happy; glossy; smooth; flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰladʰ-, from *ǵʰelh₂- (“to shine”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).