pleasant

[ plez-uhnt ]

/ ˈplɛz ənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pleasant ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pleasing, agreeable, or enjoyable; giving pleasure: pleasant news.

(of persons, manners, disposition, etc.) socially acceptable or adept; polite; amiable; agreeable.

fair, as weather: a pleasant summer day.

Archaic. lively, sprightly, or merry.

Obsolete. jocular or facetious.

Nearby words

pleader, pleading, pleadingly, pleadings, pleasance, pleasantly, pleasant grove, pleasant hill, pleasant island, pleasantly, pleasanton

Origin of pleasant

1325–75; Middle English plesaunt < Middle French plaisant, orig. present participle of plaisir to please; see -ant

SYNONYMS FOR pleasant

1 welcome, gratifying.

2 delightful, congenial, friendly.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pleasant ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspleas·ant·ly, adverbpleas·ant·ness, noun

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

Examples from the Web for pleasantly

Klein said he was pleasantly surprised by his close encounter with the governor.
‘Lamestream Media’ Execs Are Running Palin TV|Lloyd Grove|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I was pleasantly surprised,” Rachel McQueen, assistant human ecology professor at the university, said.
Levi’s CEO Chip Bergh Hasn’t Washed His Jeans in a Year—And That’s Perfectly Fine!|Erin Cunningham|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He brings a palpable sense of decency and a pleasantly crinkly face to the role.
Just Kill Mr. Bates Already! How to Save ‘Downton Abbey’|Andrew Romano|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His joy was shared by Paul Ryan, who said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the number in favor, which was higher than he expected.
A Rare Bipartisan House Budget Vote Is Cause for Optimism|Ben Jacobs|December 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

He had a pleasantly jowly face, punctuated by a brushy mustache under his fleshy nose, his pants always fastened to suspenders.
Brunello’s King Lear: Gianfranco Soldera Reflects on the Attack on His Wine|Alice Feiring|December 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The afternoon sun was pleasantly warm and the air, it seemed to Cooper, was the freshest he had ever smelled.
Project Mastodon|Clifford Donald Simak
I saw a similar remark in a book I was reading the other day—pleasantly.
Ainslee's magazine, Volume 16, No. 2, September, 1905|Various
Whereupon, he wheeled quickly and met Last Time's scarred face grinning through the bars at him pleasantly, and obviously amused.
The Red Debt|Everett MacDonald
Moreover, it was pleasantly warm, for the caretaker had made a fire in the furnace the day before.
Black Oxen|Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
It is pleasantly situated in the valley of a little stream, the Morbra, which flows into the Marne.
Baron d'Holbach|Max Pearson Cushing

British Dictionary definitions for pleasantly

pleasant

/ (ˈplɛzənt) /

adjective

giving or affording pleasure; enjoyable

having pleasing or agreeable manners, appearance, habits, etc

obsolete merry and lively

Derived Formspleasantly, adverbpleasantness, noun

Word Origin for pleasant

C14: from Old French plaisant, from plaisir to please

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 pleasantly

pleasant

adj.

late 14c. (early 14c. as a surname), from Old French plaisant "pleasant, pleasing, agreeable" (12c.), present participle of plaisir "to please" (see please). Pleasantry has the word's modern French sense of "funny, jocular." Related: Pleasantly.

pleasant

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of pleasant

Examples from the Web for pleasantly

British Dictionary definitions for pleasantly

pleasant

adjective

Word Origin for pleasant

Word Origin and History for pleasantly

pleasant