delectate

[ dih-lek-teyt ]

verb (used with object)

, de·lec·tat·ed, de·lec·tat·ing.

1. to please; charm; delight.

Word History and Origins

Origin of delectate¹

1705–1805; < Latin dēlectātus delighted, past participle of dēlectāre. See delectable, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

You and I had a discussion about that line during the editing process: we talked about changing the phrase to “you relish discomfort”; I wanted to stick with “delectate pain” because the idea is more pronounced and accurate.

From The New Yorker

During a later conversation, she says to him, “You delectate pain,” meaning other people’s pain.

From The New Yorker

“You joke and you prod just to see which way they’ll jump and how far. You pick at their hurt spots. You delectate pain. It doesn’t sound like this girl has a case legally, but, honestly, I can understand why she’s mad. You didn’t touch her, did you? I mean, sexually?”

From The New Yorker

Once more before the antique church, the reverenced grave; and with a soothed and grateful mind, we will bend our way back to Hamburg, and diving into one of the odorous cellars on the Jungfern Stieg, will delectate ourselves with beefsteaks and fried potatoes, our glass of Baierisches Bier, and perhaps a tiny schnapschen to settle our repast.

From Project Gutenberg

If we do not mark passages and delectate over phrases, we receive an exquisite sense of harmony—and harmony is the last word of style.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• beguile
• bewitch
• captivate
• carry away
• charm
• enamor
• enrapture
• enthrall
• entice
• fascinate
• gratify
• hypnotize
• please
• thrill
• wow