pleasurable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- pleasurableness noun
- pleasurably adverb
- quasi-pleasurable adjective
- quasi-pleasurably adverb
- unpleasurable adjective
Etymology
Origin of pleasurable
Explanation
Something pleasurable is fun or satisfying in some way. You probably find petting your cat pleasurable, but your cat may feel that scratching the sofa is much more pleasurable for him. Things that give you pleasure — because they're entertaining, funny, pleasant, or delicious — are pleasurable. Pleasure — just like beauty — tends to be in the eye of the beholder. Your idea of a pleasurable summer day might be lounging in a hammock with a good book and a glass of iced tea. And, while your sister thinks spending Saturday at the mall is pleasurable, that might sound like the least pleasurable activity in the world to you. The Latin root, placere, means "to please."
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.
Endorphins are the brain's "happy chemicals" and are released both to reduce stress and pain and in response to pleasurable experiences, such as laughing with friends over a truly terrible Christmas cracker joke.
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025
To play somebody like that, and to allow myself to be blind to the feeling of consequence and to just shoot like a rocket, that was incredibly freeing and pleasurable.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
Her fingers moved across my face like a pianist working through complicated scales as she tackled lymphatic drainage and the loosening of my jaw — a pleasurable experience that wasn’t uncomfortable even once.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025
The Air was very pleasurable to hold and impressed his friends, but didn’t work as his primary device, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025
“I am very greatly rejoiced to find that an occasion has occurred so pleasurable that the people cannot restrain themselves,” he jokes.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
