be•a•tif•ic (bee-uh-TIF-ik) adj
Definition:
1. bestowing bliss, blessings, happiness, or the like
2. blissful; saintly
beatifically adverb
Origin:
1630s, from L.L. beatificus, from L. beatus "blessed"
Related:
Synonyms: serene, exalted, angelic, blissful, euphoric, happy, joyful
Related Words: beatify, beatitude
Sentence Examples:
• Come then, let us unite our ideas, let us speak together, but let us yet mention as present, those beatific thoughts and imaginings which are indeed past. Let us ever remember and cherish in our heart of hearts those golden fore-tastes of future eternity, or those rapturous reminiscences of past, which prove beyond logical demonstration, the existence of some vital principle in man, godlike in faculties, in essence immaterial, in duration, immortal! - The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, 1829
• A fumbling is heard outside the door. It is opened suddenly; Jack Barthwick seems to fall into the room. He stands holding by the door knob, staring before him, with a beatific smile. He is in evening dress and opera hat, and carries in his hand a sky-blue velvet lady's reticule. His boyish face is freshly coloured and clean-shaven. An overcoat is hanging on his arm. -The Silver Box, John Galsworthy
• The increasing crowd stares with beatific placidity. People emerge impatiently from the bowels of the throbbing motor-bus and slip down from its back, and either join the crowd or vanish. -The Author's Craft, Arnold Bennett
The Storyline
She tried to paste on her best beatific smile.
Sources: Dictionary.com, Online Etymology
Word-E: A Word-A-Day
Word of The Day for Saturday, December 25, 2010
beatific
Word of The Day for Tuesday, October 5, 2010
macarism
mac•a•rism (mak-uh-riz-uhm) n
Definition
1. pleasure in or praise of another's joy; a beatitude
2. the practice of making others happy through praise and felicitation
macarize verb
Related
Synonyms: none found
Examples
• If we consider such typical examples of macarism as the Beatitudes, or again such proverbial expressions as "Happy is the bride that the sun shines on; happy are the dead that the rain rains on", we can surely see that these sentences are not used to convey propositions. 1980
• This passage concerning David's macarism, therefore, is parenthetical as related to the main line of thought. 1889
The Storyline
She wasn't afforded the luxury, however, of experiencing macarism for their high spirits.
Origin
from the Greek makarismos, beatification; attribution of good fortune
Sources: Dictionary of Difficult Words, Free Dictionary, My Etymology
Why This Word:
When one sees the word schadenfreude, pleasure in another's sorrow or pain, it is almost always accompanied by a definition. It is both foreign and seldom used. Yet it's antonym is, sadly, more obscure. A GoogleFight between the words gives schadenfreude the win by a margin of 1,590,000 to 170.
Today, macarism is almost entirely a religious term, essentially in use synonymous with beatitude. And yet don't we need a word for taking pleasure in another's joy? Don't you want to be able congratualate yourself silently on the macarism you feel from another's good fortune?
Word-E: A Word-A-Day