Pleasure
intj, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 A state of being pleased or contented; gratification. uncountable
"He remembered with pleasure his home and family."
- 2 sexual gratification wordnet
- 3 A person, thing or action that causes enjoyment. countable
"It was a pleasure to meet you."
- 4 an activity that affords enjoyment wordnet
- 5 Sexual enjoyment. uncountable
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 a formal expression wordnet
- 7 One's preference. uncountable
"What is your pleasure: coffee or tea?"
- 8 something or someone that provides a source of happiness wordnet
- 9 The will or desire of someone or some agency in power. formal, uncountable
"to hold an office at pleasure: to hold it indefinitely until it is revoked"
- 10 a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience wordnet
- 1 To give or afford pleasure to. transitive
"[H]e / [...] / Had tost his ball and flown his kite, and roll'd / His hoop to pleasure Edith, [...]"
- 2 To give sexual pleasure to. transitive
"Johnny pleasured Jackie with his mouth last night."
- 3 To take pleasure; to seek or pursue pleasure. dated, intransitive
"to go pleasuring"
- 1 pleased to meet you, "It's my pleasure"
Example
More examples"To see you is always a great pleasure."
Etymology
From Early Modern English pleasur, plesur, alteration (with ending accommodated to -ure) of Middle English plaisir (“pleasure”), from Old French plesir, plaisir (“to please”), infinitive used as a noun, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placeō (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-k- (“wide and flat”). Related to Dutch plezier (“pleasure, fun”). More at please.
Related phrases
More for "pleasure"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.