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.
-
worldly or frivolous enjoyment.
the pursuit of pleasure.
-
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)
-
to take pleasure; delight.
I pleasure in your company.
-
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
-
something that gives or affords enjoyment or delight
his garden was his only pleasure
-
-
amusement, recreation, or enjoyment
-
( as modifier )
a pleasure boat
pleasure ground
-
-
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.
"He did all his life what he wanted to do to make a difference - he found great pleasure in exposing wrongs," Alan added.
From BBC
About finding one small, reliable pleasure in a game designed to strip everything else away.
From Salon
“And I say, ‘No, I get much more pleasure and satisfaction out of watching people pay for them.’”
Flitting between organic and industrial, they are a pleasure to inspect as the slight variations in each give them individual personalities that grow the longer one spends with them.
It was a space where she and her female friends could engage with Boys' Love in a way that afforded them more agency over their own pleasure.
From BBC
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.
