pleasure

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English, alteration 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 placēre (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *plā-k- (“wide and flat”). More at please.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈplɛʒə/, X-SAMPA: /"plEZ@/
• (US) enPR: plĕzhʹər, IPA: /ˈplɛʒɚ/, X-SAMPA: /"plEZ@`/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʒə(r)

Noun

pleasure (plural pleasures)

1. (uncountable)   A state of being pleased.
   • 2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, BBC Sport:

     But the only statistic that will concern West Brom will be the scoreline, and their manager Roy Hodgson will take considerable pleasure from a victory over the club he managed for just 191 days.

   He remembered with pleasure his home and family.

   I get a lot of pleasure from watching others work hard while I relax.

2. (countable)   A person, thing or action that causes enjoyment.
   • 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19: 

     In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. The welfare state is dismantled. […]

   It was a pleasure to meet you.

   The puppy was a pleasure.

   Having a good night's sleep is one of life's little pleasures.

3. (uncountable)   One's preference.

   What is your pleasure, coffee or tea?

4. (formal) (uncountable)   The will or desire of someone or some agency in power.

   to hold an office at pleasure: to hold it indefinitely until it is revoked

   to be imprisoned at Her Majesty's pleasure: to be imprisoned indefinitely

   at Congress's pleasure: whenever or as long as Congress desires

Synonyms

• (state of mind) delight, gladness, gratification, happiness, indulgence, satisfaction
• (person or thing that causes enjoyment): delight, joy
• (preference) desire, fancy, want, will, wish
• (will or desire of party in power) discretion

Antonyms

• pain
• displeasure

Translations

a state of being pleased

• Albanian: kënaqësi (sq)
• American Sign Language: OpenB@Chest-PalmBack RoundSurface
• Arabic: متعة (ar) f
• Armenian: հաճույք (hy) (hačuyk’)
• Azerbaijani: həzz (az)
• Bengali: নন্দ (bn) (anondo)
• Bulgarian: удоволствие (bg) (udovolstvie) n, наслада (bg) (naslada) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 欢乐 (cmn) (huānlè)

• Czech: potěšení (cs) m
• Dutch: genoegen (nl) n, welbehagen (nl) n, plezier (nl) n
• Esperanto: plezuro (eo)
• Estonian: lõbu (et)
• Finnish: huvi (fi)
• French: plaisir (fr) m
• Georgian: სიამოვნება (ka) (siamovneba)
• German: Vergnügen (de) n
• Greek: ευχαρίστηση (el) (eucharístisi) f, απόλαυση (el) (apólafsi) f, τέρψη (el) (térpsi) f, ηδονή (el) (idoní) f
• Hebrew: ענג (he) (oneg) m
• Hindi: आनन्द (hi) (ānand) m
• Hungarian: gyönyörűség (hu)
• Indonesian: kesenangan (id)
• Interlingua: placer (ia)
• Irish: pléisiúr (ga) m
• Italian: piacere (it) m
• Japanese: 喜び (ja) (よろこび, yorokobi)
• Korean: 쾌락 (ko) (kwaerak)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: خۆشی (ku) (xoshí)

• Latgalian: prīca

• Latin: voluptas (la) f, iucunditas (la) f, delectatio (la) f, oblectatio (la) f, delectamentum (la) n, gaudium (la) n, dulcedo (la) f
• Latvian: prieks (lv)
• Lithuanian: malonumas (lt)
• Luxembourgish: Plëséier (lb) m
• Mauritian Creole: jos
• Mongolian: баяр жаргал (mn) (bajar žargal)
• Norwegian: fornøyelse (no) m
• Old English: drēam (ang) m
• Persian: کیف (fa) (keyf)
• Polish: przyjemność (pl) f
• Portuguese: prazer (pt) m
• Romanian: plăcere (ro) f
• Russian: удовольствие (ru) (udovól’stvije) n
• Sanskrit: आनन्द (sa) (ānanda)
• Scottish Gaelic: tlachd (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: задово̀љство (sh) n, ужи́так (sh) m

  Roman: zadovòljstvo (sh) n, užítak (sh) m

• Slovak: potešenie (sk) n
• Spanish: placer (es) m
• Swahili: anasa (sw)
• Swedish: behag (sv) n
• Tagalog: kaaliwan (tl)
• Thai: ความปิติยินดี (th) (kwaam bpìt yindee)
• Turkish: zevk (tr)
• Ukrainian: задоволення (uk) (zadovólennja) f
• Vietnamese: niềm vui thích (vi)
• Welsh: bodd (cy) m, boddhâd (cy) m, hyfrydwch (cy) m, mwynhâd (cy) m, mwyniant (cy) m and f, pleser (cy) m
• Yiddish: פֿאַרגעניגן (yi) (fargenign) n and m

person or thing that causes enjoyment

• Armenian: հաճույք (hy) (hačuyk’)
• French: plaisir (fr) m
• German: Freude (de) f, Spaß (de) m
• Luxembourgish: Plëséier (lb) m
• Portuguese: prazer (pt) m
• Russian: удовольствие (ru) (udovolʹstvije) n, наслаждение (ru) (naslaždenije) n, удовлетворение (ru) (udovletvorenije) n, радость (ru) (radostʹ) f, (плотские) радости (ru) ((plotskije) radosti), развлечение (ru) (razvlečenije) n

• Scottish Gaelic: tlachd (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: задово̀љство (sh) n, ужи́так (sh) m

  Roman: zadovòljstvo (sh) n, užítak (sh) m

one's preference

• French: désir (fr) m
• Russian: склонность (ru) (sklonnostʹ) f, расположенность (ru) (raspoložennostʹ) f, желание (ru) (želanije) n, воля (ru) (volja) f

• Serbo-Croatian: preferèncija (sh) f,

the will or desire of someone or some agency in power

Translations

one's preference

• American Sign Language: OpenB@Chest-PalmBack RoundSurface
• Czech: uspokojit (cs)

• German: Vergnügen bereiten (being pleased)
• Russian: радовать (ru) (radovatʹ), доставлять удовольствие (ru) (dostavljatʹ udovolʹstvije), удовлетворять (ru) (udovletvorjatʹ)

Derived terms

Related terms

antipleasure at Her Majesty's pleasure, at His Majesty's pleasure at one's pleasure, at pleasure business before pleasure do someone a pleasure do someone the pleasure of during Her Majesty's pleasure, during His Majesty's pleasure during one's pleasure, during pleasure end-pleasure English pleasure fore-pleasure gold of pleasure, gold-of-pleasure, gold-pleasure

it's a pleasure lady of pleasure man of pleasure may I have the pleasure my pleasure pleasurable pleasurance pleasure barge pleasure boat pleasure-carriage pleasure center, pleasure centre pleasure craft pleasure cruise pleasure curve pleasured pleasure dome pleasuredrome pleasureful

pleasure-giving pleasure ground pleasurehood pleasure house the pleasure is all mine, the pleasure's all mine the pleasure is mine, the pleasure's mine pleasureless pleasure-loving pleasurement pleasure moment pleasuremonger pleasure of someone's company pleasure-pain principle pleasure principle

pleasurer pleasure-seeker pleasure-seeking pleasures of the flesh pleasures of the table pleasure steamer pleasure trip pleasure-unpleasure principle pleasuring pleasurist pleasurous sexual pleasure to one's pleasure, to pleasure unpleasure western pleasure with pleasure woman of pleasure

Interjection

pleasure

1. pleasure to meet you, pleased to meet you

Related terms

• displeasure
• please
• pleasant

Verb

pleasure (third-person singular simple present pleasures, present participle pleasuring, simple past and past participle pleasured)

1. (transitive) to give pleasure (especially sexual pleasure) to

   Johnny pleasured Jackie orally last night.

2. (intransitive, dated) To take pleasure; to seek or pursue pleasure.

   to go pleasuring

External links

• pleasure in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• pleasure in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911