enjoy

[en-joi]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enjoy ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to experience with joy; take pleasure in: He enjoys Chinese food.

to have and use with satisfaction; have the benefit of: He enjoys an excellent income from his trust funds.

to find or experience pleasure for (oneself): She seems to enjoy herself at everything she does.

to undergo (an improvement): Automobile manufacturers have enjoyed a six-percent rise in sales over the past month.

to have intercourse with.

Origin of enjoy

1350–1400; Middle English enjoyen to make joyful < Old French enjoier to give joy to. See en-¹, joy

Related formsen·joy·er, nounen·joy·ing·ly, adverbpre·en·joy, verb (used with object)re·en·joy, verb (used with object)un·en·joyed, adjectiveun·en·joy·ing, adjectiveun·en·joy·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms for enjoy

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enjoy ON THESAURUS.COM

1. appreciate, fancy, relish, savor. 2. possess, own.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for enjoys

love, like, savor, appreciate, relish, use, own, boast, experience, maintain, have, retain, hold, go, adore, dig, mind, fancy, process, occupy

Examples from the Web for enjoys

Contemporary Examples of enjoys

The demonic ‘anti-Santa’ enjoys an unlikely renaissance as we learn to embrace our inner pagan.
Meet Krampus, the Seriously Bad Santa
Jay Michaelson
December 5, 2014
Laskey, who earned a degree in psychology, enjoys painting and poetry.
The Moms of Monster Jam Drive Trucks, Buck Macho Culture
Eliza Krigman
November 22, 2014
Zoe enjoys being able to share her stories with her friends and classmates.
Blessed or Cursed? Child Prodigies Reveal All
Justin Jones
November 17, 2014
Conrad, you see, is in an open marriage and enjoys a little submission and a little pain with her sex.
Coming Out Kinky to Your Doctor, in Black and Blue
Heather Boerner
October 25, 2014
But even if she did enjoy it, even if she enjoys the attention, so what?
Why Does Everyone Hate Lea Michele?
Tim Teeman
October 9, 2014

Historical Examples of enjoys

He enjoys not a little--it has been often said--of the position of posterity.
De Libris: Prose and Verse
Austin Dobson
New-Haven enjoys an elephant that has corns, and is about to be operated on by a chiropodist.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 7, May 14, 1870
Various
Can they prolong their own possession, or lengthen his days who enjoys them?
Joseph Andrews, Vol. 2
Henry Fielding
The perpetrator is educated, wise, enjoys the respect of his fellows.
The Hunted Outlaw
Anonymous
He enjoys the smell of powder in a battle where he is always safe.
The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 10, No. 58, August, 1862
Various

British Dictionary definitions for enjoys

enjoy

verb (tr)

to receive pleasure from; take joy in

to have the benefit of; use with satisfaction

to have as a condition; experiencethe land enjoyed a summer of rain

archaic to have sexual intercourse with

enjoy oneself to have a good time

Derived Formsenjoyable, adjectiveenjoyableness, nounenjoyably, adverbenjoyer, noun

Word Origin for enjoy

C14: from Old French enjoir, from en- 1 + joir to find pleasure in, from Latin gaudēre to rejoice

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for enjoys

enjoy

late 14c., "rejoice, be glad" (intransitive), from Old French enjoir "to give joy, rejoice, take delight in," from en- "make" (see en- (1)) + joir "enjoy," from Latin gaudere "rejoice" (see joy); Sense of "have the use or benefit of" first recorded early 15c. (replacing Old English brucan; see brook (v.)).

Meaning "take pleasure in" is mid-15c. In modern use it has a tendency to lose its connection with pleasure: newspaper photo captions say someone enjoys an ice cream cone, etc., when all she is doing is eating it, and Wright's "English Dialect Dictionary" (1900) reports widespread use in north and west England of the phrase to enjoy bad health for one who has ailments. Related: Enjoyed; enjoying; enjoys.