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
-
-
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.
Now, as a flight instructor, Sintora flies in planes over and around the blimp all the time, and he hopes to one day perhaps mix business with pleasure as a pilot for the blimp.
From Los Angeles Times
It’s not a reviewer’s job to save a series from itself, but “The Copenhagen Test” provides pleasures enough to warrant an advisory: Slog through episode 1.
Researchers from Google found that models make trade-offs between stipulated pleasure and pain states, giving priority to pain avoidance over rewards in ways that suggest more than mere token prediction.
But if I could recommend one slightly underrated entry from the black-and-white set — one that rewards a rewatch, or a first watch, with uncommon pleasures — might I gently point you toward “Christmas in Connecticut”?
From Salon
If you are one of those feeling smug because you predicted this, did you take pleasure in the 4-0 defeat four years ago, or the 4-0 before that, or the 5-0 before that?
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.
