pleasure

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈplɛʒɚ/ UK /ˈplɛʒə/ See IPA manual

Freq #988

Meanings

1

noun
A feeling of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction.

He remembered his home and family with pleasure.
2

noun
An activity or thing that you enjoy.

Reading is one of my greatest pleasures.
3

noun
What someone wants or prefers.

What is your pleasure: coffee or tea?

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a feeling of happiness,... delight enjoyment satisfaction gladness

2 noun · an activity or thing that... delight joy

3 noun · what someone wants or prefers. desire wish preference

More beatitude bliss delectation ecstasy euphoria lust nirvana rapture ravishment transport

Opposites

agony

Word family

Forms pleasuredpleasurespleasuring

Derived forms antipleasureend-pleasurefore-pleasureforepleasuregold-of-pleasuregold-pleasurepleasurabilitypleasurablepleasurancepleasure-carriagepleasure-givingpleasure-loving

Related forms aroused blissful displeasure happy pleasant please

Appears in

Phrases (9)

See all

great pleasure
a lot of pleasure; strong enjoyment

Adjective + noun
simple pleasure
a small, uncomplicated enjoyment

Adjective + noun
give pleasure
cause enjoyment or satisfaction in someone else

Verb + noun
pure pleasure
complete, unmixed pleasure with no drawback

Adjective + noun
express pleasure
show or communicate that one is pleased

Verb + noun
find pleasure
discover or experience enjoyment in something

Verb + noun

Proverbs (4)

See all

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.

*pleh₂- Proto-Indo-European plaisir Middle English plesir Old French placeō Latin *pleh₂-k- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# pleasure

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈplɛʒɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈplɛʒə/
**Frequency rank:** 988

## Meanings
1. A feeling of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction.
2. An activity or thing that you enjoy.
3. What someone wants or prefers.

## Examples
- He remembered his home and family with pleasure.
- Reading is one of my greatest pleasures.
- What is your pleasure: coffee or tea?

## Synonyms
- beatitude
- bliss
- delectation
- delight
- ecstasy
- euphoria
- lust
- nirvana
- rapture
- ravishment
- transport

## Antonyms
- agony

## Derived Forms
- antipleasure
- end-pleasure
- fore-pleasure
- forepleasure
- gold-of-pleasure
- gold-pleasure
- pleasurability
- pleasurable
- pleasurance
- pleasure-carriage
- pleasure-giving
- pleasure-loving

## Related Forms
- aroused
- blissful
- displeasure
- happy
- pleasant
- please

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *pleh₂-
- Root: plaisir
- Root: plesir
- Root: placeō
- Root: *pleh₂-k-
- Affix: -ure - act

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Pleasure comes 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. In present-day English it covers a feeling of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction, an activity or thing that you enjoy, and what someone wants or prefers. The wider family includes derived forms such as antipleasure, end-pleasure, fore-pleasure, forepleasure, gold-of-pleasure and related forms such as aroused, blissful, displeasure, happy.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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