# delight

/dɪˈɫaɪt/ (US) · /dɪlˈaɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/delight
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. great pleasure

noun · CEFR B1

a feeling of very high happiness or satisfaction.

For teachers: a high degree of gratification or pleasure; joy. Often uncountable when referring to the emotion itself.

- The children screamed with delight when they saw the snow falling.
- To the delight of the local residents, the council finally approved the plans for a new community park and library.

### 2. something enjoyable

noun · CEFR B2

something that gives you great pleasure or joy.

For teachers: a person or thing that provides a source of great pleasure. Countable in this sense.

- The small garden was a delight to visit in the middle of summer.
- The local bakery is a hidden delight, offering traditional pastries that have remained unchanged for three generations.

### 3. to please someone

verb · CEFR B2

to give someone great pleasure or to make them very happy.

For teachers: to affect with great pleasure or to gratify highly. Transitive use.

- The magician's clever tricks delighted the audience of all ages.
- The chef's innovative approach to traditional Mediterranean cuisine delighted even the most demanding food critics.

### 4. to take pleasure in

verb · CEFR B2

to get a lot of pleasure from doing something.

For teachers: to derive great pleasure or satisfaction from an activity. Intransitive; almost always takes the preposition 'in'.

- He delights in telling stories about his travels around the world.
- The novelist seemed to delight in creating complex characters whose motives remained a mystery until the final chapter.

Usage: Usually followed by the preposition 'in' and a gerund or noun phrase.

## Examples

- The children's faces were full of delight when they saw the cake.
- To the delight of the local community, the historic library reopened after a year of repairs.
- The garden was a constant source of delight for the elderly couple, who spent every summer afternoon tending to their prize-winning roses.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.