pleasure
[plezh-er]
- the state or feeling of being pleased.
- 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?
- sensual gratification.
- a cause or source of enjoyment or delight: It was a pleasure to see you.
- pleasurable quality: the pleasure of his company.
- one's will, desire, or choice: to make known one's pleasure.
- to give pleasure to; gratify; please.
- to take pleasure; delight: I pleasure in your company.
- to seek pleasure, as by taking a holiday.
Origin of pleasure
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. happiness, gladness, delectation. 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. 5. voluptuousness. 8. preference, wish, inclination, predilection.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pleasure
Contemporary Examples
Pleasure shoots magically in every direction like an explosion of sparks.
I had the pleasure of meeting Stuart Scott several years ago.
They get $8 million to dredge the channel for pleasure boats to sail to Catalina Island.
I tell him about the Pleasure Chest--a Hollywood shop that sells sexual paraphernalia.
On top of the pleasure (or pain), the clients who saw Mistress Carla received their own additional perks.
Historical Examples
He would say that his was a trip of business, and not pleasure, and hard work he had.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
She laughed her little laugh of pleasure, and thanked him prettily for the compliment.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
At last, I asked, if it were his pleasure that I should pour him out another dish?
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
Do not occasion me uneasiness, when I would give you nothing but pleasure.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
Dearest Madam, forgive me: it was always my pride and my pleasure to obey you.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
pleasure
- an agreeable or enjoyable sensation or emotionthe pleasure of hearing good music
- something that gives or affords enjoyment or delighthis garden was his only pleasure
- amusement, recreation, or enjoyment
- (as modifier)a pleasure boat; pleasure ground
- euphemistic sexual gratification or enjoymenthe took his pleasure of her
- a person's preference or choice
- (when intr, often foll by in) to give pleasure to or take pleasure (in)
Word Origin
C14 plesir, from Old French; related to Old French plaisir to please
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for pleasure
n.
late 14c., "condition of enjoyment," from Old French plesir, also plaisir "enjoyment, delight, desire, will" (12c.), from noun use of infinitive plaisir (v.) "to please," from Latin placere "to please, give pleasure, be approved" (see please (v.)). Ending altered in English 14c. by influence of words in -ure (measure, etc.). Meaning "sensual enjoyment as the chief object of life" is attested from 1520s.
v.
1530s, "to take pleasure in;" 1550s as "give pleasure to," from pleasure (n.). Sexual sense by 1610s. Related: Pleasured; pleasuring.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper