an emoticon of a smiling face
"She added a smiley to her text message to make it sound friendlier."
A simplified representation of a smiling face.
"The children drew smileys on their letters to cheer up their friends."
In plain English: A smiley is an emoji that shows someone smiling with big eyes and no mouth to express happiness.
"She drew a simple smiley on her notebook to brighten up her day."
Cheerful and happy; smiling.
"The smiley child greeted every neighbor with a bright wave on her way to school."
In plain English: Smiley means looking happy and cheerful with a big smile on your face.
"The child drew a big smiley face on his shirt to cheer everyone up."
Usage: Use this adjective to describe someone's expression or demeanor rather than their general personality, as it implies an immediate outward appearance of happiness. Avoid using it in formal writing where "cheerful" or "beaming" would be more appropriate.
A Scottish surname, from nicknames, perhaps a originally byname for a happy, smiling person.
"The local history book mentioned that the Smiley family had lived in the valley for generations before they changed their name to Smith."
The word comes from combining "smile" with the adjectival suffix "-y." It originally referred to a smiling face before becoming a noun.