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Showing results for "pleasing"
  • present participle of please.
Search instead for outpleasing.
Synonyms

pleasing

American  
[plee-zing] / ˈpli zɪŋ /

adjective

  1. giving pleasure; agreeable; gratifying.

    a pleasing performance.

    Synonyms:
    engaging, delightful, charming, pleasant

pleasing British  
/ ˈpliːzɪŋ /

adjective

  1. giving pleasure; likable or gratifying

"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

Usage

What are other ways to say pleasing? Something that is pleasing gives pleasure or is agreeable. But calling something pleasing isn’t quite the same as calling it gratifying or interesting. Find out why on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of pleasing

First recorded in 1350–1400, pleasing is from the Middle English word plesing. See please, -ing 2

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.

See Examples For:

An adviser’s recommendations may not always be pleasing to hear, but they flow from a more complete understanding of a client’s situation based on detailed fact-finding, probing and insight into the client’s needs.

From MarketWatch Jul. 24, 2026

And she goes further, delivering the word “sorry” with oddly pleasing dissonance at one point and, at another, extending the word “no” to suggest both desperation and humor.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 11, 2026

Its words will be blandly pleasing, but can they sparkle?

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 9, 2026

Jeff Greenblatt, a former researcher for Socolow who contributed to the “Wedges” paper, said the researchers had engaged in “a delicate dance” between maintaining their intellectual integrity and pleasing BP.

From Salon Jun. 26, 2026

First run of the night is in the rich part of town—Potter Farms, where the houses are huge and geometrically pleasing to the eye, but the tips are not.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

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