Pleasantries

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    plural of pleasantry form-of, plural
  2. 2
    A short polite conversation before a serious conversation. plural, plural-only

    "exchanging pleasantries"

  3. 3
    For bad language as a euphemism. plural, plural-only

    "Signora Caterina thought it could. Weak, yet cunning—vain, yet conscious of having outlived her attractions—with one of those tempers which we conceive to be the true interpretation of the old fairy tale, where out of the mouth of the party proceeded snakes, toads, locusts, and other pleasantries."

Synonyms

All synonyms
foretalksmall talksmall talk

Example

More examples

"Skip the pleasantries and get down to business."

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.