pleasure
Americannoun
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the state or feeling of being pleased.
- Synonyms:
- delectation, gladness, happiness
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enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one's liking; gratification; delight.
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worldly or frivolous enjoyment.
the pursuit of pleasure.
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recreation or amusement; diversion; enjoyment.
Are you traveling on business or for pleasure?
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sensual gratification.
- Synonyms:
- voluptuousness
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a cause or source of enjoyment or delight.
It was a pleasure to see you.
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pleasurable quality.
the pleasure of his company.
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one's will, desire, or choice.
to make known one's pleasure.
- Synonyms:
- predilection, inclination, wish, preference
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to take pleasure; delight.
I pleasure in your company.
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to seek pleasure, as by taking a holiday.
noun
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an agreeable or enjoyable sensation or emotion
the pleasure of hearing good music
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something that gives or affords enjoyment or delight
his garden was his only pleasure
-
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amusement, recreation, or enjoyment
-
( as modifier )
a pleasure boat
pleasure ground
-
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euphemistic sexual gratification or enjoyment
he took his pleasure of her
-
a person's preference or choice
verb
Related Words
Pleasure, enjoyment, delight, joy refer to the feeling of being pleased and happy. Pleasure is the general term: to take pleasure in beautiful scenery. Enjoyment is a quiet sense of well-being and pleasurable satisfaction: enjoyment at sitting in the shade on a warm day. Delight is a high degree of pleasure, usually leading to active expression of it: delight at receiving a hoped-for letter. Joy is a feeling of delight so deep and so lasting that one radiates happiness and expresses it spontaneously: joy at unexpected good news.
Other Word Forms
- antipleasure noun
- pleasureful adjective
- pleasureless adjective
- pleasurelessly adverb
Etymology
Origin of pleasure
First recorded in 1325–75; late Middle English ( please, -ure ); replacing Middle English plaisir, from Middle French (noun use of infinitive), from Latin placēre “to please”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Lore Segal’s fiction, memory is a mine of storytelling wealth—and conversation among friends is the vital thread of life itself, even when all other pleasures have faded.
“Well, young people, it has been a pleasure getting to know you, but it’s time to move along now. You go on out there and get back to it. You’re making us proud.”
From Literature
“But what if I find peace in progress? Or pleasure in pain?”
From Literature
Adès, who has his own unpredictably whimsical side, conducts as though he had written the score himself and shares his pleasure with every delightful effect.
From Los Angeles Times
“I remember those dishes with great pleasure and I can never get them as good as they tasted when my mother served them.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
