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pleasure

n. C / U
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈpɫɛʒɝ// UK //plˈɛʒɐ// plea·sure Archaic Formal General-service

n. a feeling of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction. You can also use it to describe something that makes you feel good, like a hobby or a nice meal.

n. a state of feeling or being happy or satisfied; a source of enjoyment or delight.


SIMPLE

Reading a good book gives me great pleasure.

CONTEXTUAL

It was a pleasure to meet the new neighbors at the community garden yesterday.

COMPLEX

The philosopher argued that true pleasure is found not in fleeting physical sensations but in the quiet satisfaction of a life lived with purpose.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

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.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the general feeling of enjoyment; countable when referring to a specific activity or event that causes enjoyment.

Pitfall

It was my pleasure of meeting youIt was my pleasure to meet youWhen used as a polite social formula, the noun is followed by a to-infinitive rather than a prepositional phrase.

Idioms2 entries

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