delightful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- delightfully adverb
- delightfulness noun
- undelightful adjective
- undelightfully adverb
Etymology
Origin of delightful
Explanation
Anything delightful causes pleasure or joy. For most people, watching a puppy play is delightful. Delight is a strong positive emotion. We feel delight when something entertains or pleases us very much. Such things can be called delightful. After weeks of cold weather, a sunny day is delightful. Making a new friend is delightful. Going to see an exciting or hilarious movie is delightful. A good cup of coffee can be delightful. This word can apply to almost anything you enjoy a lot. People who find lots of things delightful are generally pretty happy.
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.
But if she is a delightful, gritty inspiration to some, Moses has always been an overrated “primitive” kept aloft by a winning backstory to others, including many art-world gatekeepers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Then she shares a delightful, fact-based piece of trivia like, “Hey, did you know that rats giggle when you tickle them?”
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
She and the rest of the cast, which includes Tom Felton and Heather Graham, engage in a delightful dance in each fight scene, the camera chasing them down and shaking the foundations of the building.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
From the loss to Italy, this has been a delightful freakshow from Scotland.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
“And now you have these three delightful children to raise, just as if they were your own. Surely that will be enough.”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
