delighted
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of delighted
Explanation
You can use the adjective delighted to describe being really pleased or happy with something. Maybe you would be "stoked" about getting backstage passes to a concert, while someone getting backstage passes to the symphony would be delighted. Delighted might be a slightly old-fashioned way to show excitement or enthusiasm, or maybe it's a more refined way to express how you feel. Saying, "Oh, I'm so delighted you decided to come!" was once a common way to show how happy you were to see a friend. More contemporary uses might be sarcastic, like when you hand your mom an armload of stinky gym clothes without a "Please" and she says "I'll be delighted to wash these for you!"
Vocabulary lists containing delighted
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Hooked on a Feeling, List 1
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Smiley Face: Synonyms for "Happy"
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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.
He delighted in seeing his immigrant mother and her co-workers, who sometimes worked 12 hour days, learn about culture and books from shows like Colbert’s.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
"If the agreements reached or to be reached by Beijing and Washington are in the interests of our Chinese friends, we can only be delighted," Sergey Lavrov told a press conference in New Delhi.
From Barron's • May 16, 2026
Not literally, of course – they're delighted to be in the final after two years' absence from the competition.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
As visitors flooded in at 3 p.m., a performer from the Bob Baker Marionette Theater delighted guests with eccentric puppets, including a red-brown dog that “barked” and “sniffed” people’s shoes.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
They were delighted with the renovation and decorations of their rooms; with the new drapery, and fresh carpets, and rich tinted china vases: they expressed their gratification ungrudgingly.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
