Upbeat

//ʌpˈbit// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An unaccented beat at the start of a musical phrase.

    "The conductor said: I give you three beats for nothing and then you come in on the upbeat."

  2. 2
    an unaccented beat (especially the last beat of a measure) wordnet
  3. 3
    a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Having a fast pace, tempo, or beat.

    "The notes are easy, but it's an upbeat tune and should be played fairly quickly."

  2. 2
    Having a positive, lively, or perky tone, attitude, etc.

    "Though he had bad news, he ended with an upbeat forecast for the future."

Adjective
  1. 1
    pleasantly (even unrealistically) optimistic wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
advanceadvancementameliorationamendmentanacrusisanticipatory

Example

More examples

"What's your favorite upbeat song?"

Etymology

From up- + beat.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.