delight
Americannoun
-
delights
plural
-
a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy; rapture.
She takes great delight in her job.
- Synonyms:
- delectation, transport
- Antonyms:
- distress
-
something that gives great pleasure.
The dance was a delight to see.
- Antonyms:
- disappointment
verb (used with object)
-
delights,
present (3rd person singular)
-
delighted,
past participle, past
-
delighting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
delights,
present (3rd person singular)
-
delighted,
past participle, past
-
delighting
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to please greatly
-
to take great pleasure (in)
noun
-
extreme pleasure or satisfaction; joy
-
something that causes this
music was always his delight
Synonym Usage
See pleasure.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
delightsimple
-
delightssimple
-
have delightedperfect
-
has delightedperfect
-
am delightingprogressive
-
are delightingprogressive
-
is delightingprogressive
-
have been delightingperfect progressive
-
has been delightingperfect progressive
Past
-
delightedsimple
-
had delightedperfect
-
was delightingprogressive
-
were delightingprogressive
-
had been delightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of delight
First recorded in 1175–1225; (verb) respelling, after light 1, of earlier delite, Middle English deliten, from Anglo-French deliter, Old French delitier, from Latin delectāre ( see delectable); (noun) respelling (as above) of Middle English delit, from Anglo-French, Old French, derivative of the verb
Explanation
When you like someone, you might say, "She is an absolute delight." You mean you think she's great: a delight is a source of joy, and to delight is to cause pleasure. Babies are particularly good at expressing delight in new things. Delight is often associated with an initial impression—one says, "She continues to delight us," to suggest that the first impression continues. The word delight derives from the Latin delectare "to charm," which also gives us delectable, and the same lighthearted sense of pure, uncomplicated pleasure.
Vocabulary lists containing delight
Words inspired by "Inside Out"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Enjoy! Synonyms for "Pleasure"
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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.
See Examples For:
Watch for rage-bait—social-media algorithms tend to amplify content that triggers strong emotions like surprise, delight and outrage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Another announces, with delight, “I made these incredible marinated white beans and put them on toast.”
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
There’s a lot of potential in “Lanterns” and Conan is always a delight, but the rest of this month’s lineup is light.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
She “was such a delight to talk with every time I went in,” another person commented.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
To our delight, an unusually large brood of American Snout butterflies swarmed Eagle Pass by the billions.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Asa delights in sharing mundane activities like eating a meal together or taking his picture with her phone.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on social media that any feud between the two "delights" Russia's Vladimir Putin and called on Zelensky and Nawrocki to "calm emotions, not to stoke tensions".
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
Fletcher, who, along with Gamble, is from southern Louisiana, delights in being shocking.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
Still, amid the delights of Mr. Koolhaas’s stair, there are reminders that he is part of the generation of Deconstructivist architects who disdained the profession’s traditional values of unity, harmony and stability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
I had to be just like Etty, smiling without a care in the world, walking through the gates as if I was entitled to enjoy the delights of the park beyond them.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
But he said he was "delighted" that the government was taking action on mental health after it had been neglected by successive governments for too long.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Deeper into the grounds, fans delighted in interactive art installations — from a replica of Pinky’s Records & Discs to Craig’s front porch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
"We are delighted to uncover a molecular mechanism that could shed light on to how aging contributes to diseases like ALS and Huntington's," says first author Dr. Seda Koyuncu.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Wood seemed delighted by that fandom and, most of all, by the feeling of common purpose around his stores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
While Taran smoothed the feathers of the delighted crow, Adaon set about examining Ellidyr’s wound.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
It does what it says on the tin, delighting huge crowds with a nerve-jangling test for the best players in the world year in, year out.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
It’s easy to adore the star in the mid-to-late 1950s when he’s young and svelte, scandalizing and delighting America with his wiggly hips, popularizing a new sound dubbed rock ‘n’ roll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
Now and then, a press tour will take Bradley Cooper to Paris, where he often speaks French in interviews, delighting a local crowd of starstruck French viewers and unsuspecting international audiences alike.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2026
Skies as far south as Mexico lit up Tuesday night with faint pink and green glows, delighting many people who would normally have to travel much closer to the Earth's poles to see such phenomena.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
So he left and wandered, delighting in the freedom of Northern Italy, where he could ruminate on matters remote from the subjects he had been force-fed in his highly disciplined Prussian schoolroom.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
