pleasure

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈplɛʒə/
• (General American) enPR: plĕzhʹər, IPA^(key): /ˈplɛʒɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʒə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: pleas‧ure

Noun

pleasure (countable and uncountable, plural pleasures)

1. (uncountable) A state of being pleased or contented; gratification.

   Synonyms: delight, gladness, gratification, happiness, indulgence, satisfaction

   Antonyms: displeasure, pain

   He remembered with pleasure his home and family.

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

   • 2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in 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.

   • 2019, Toro y Moi (lyrics and music), “Ordinary Pleasure”, in Outer Peace:

     Maximize all the pleasure / Even with all this weather / Nothing can make it better / Maximize all the pleasure

2. (countable) A person, thing or action that causes enjoyment.

   Synonyms: delight, joy

   It was a pleasure to meet you.

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

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 25:9:

     Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; […] . Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.

   • 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in 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. […]

3. (uncountable) Sexual enjoyment.
4. (uncountable) One's preference.

   Synonyms: desire, fancy, want, will, wish

   What is your pleasure: coffee or tea?

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

   Synonym: discretion

   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

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

     Use your pleasure; if your love do not persuade you to come, let not my letter.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 48:14:

     He will do his pleasure on Babylon.

Derived 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
• guilty pleasure
• have the pleasure
• it's a pleasure
• lady of pleasure
• live at Her Majesty's pleasure
• man of pleasure
• mix business with pleasure
• my pleasure
• oral 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 garden
• pleasure-giving
• pleasure ground
• pleasurehood
• pleasure house
• pleasureless
• pleasure-loving
• pleasurement
• pleasure moment
• pleasuremonger
• pleasure of someone's company
• pleasure-pain principle
• pleasure principle
• pleasurer
• pleasure-seeker
• pleasure seeker
• pleasure-seeking
• pleasures of the flesh
• pleasures of the table
• pleasure steamer
• pleasure trip
• pleasure-unpleasure principle
• pleasuring
• pleasurist
• pleasurous
• self-pleasure
• sexual pleasure
• take pleasure
• the pleasure is all mine, the pleasure's all mine
• the pleasure is mine, the pleasure's mine
• to one's pleasure, to pleasure
• to what do I owe the pleasure
• unpleasure
• western pleasure
• what's your pleasure
• with pleasure
• woman of pleasure

 

Translations

a state of being pleased

• Albanian: kënaqësi (sq) f
• American Sign Language: OpenB@Chest-PalmBack RoundSurface
• Arabic: مُتْعَة f (mutʕa), لَذَّة f (laḏḏa)
• Armenian: հաճույք (hy) (hačuykʿ)
• Aromanian: plãtseare f
• Azerbaijani: həzz (az)
• Basque: atsegin
• Belarusian: задавальне́нне n (zadavalʹnjénnje), прые́мнасць f (pryjémnascʹ)
• Bengali: নন্দ (bn) (nondo)
• Bulgarian: удово́лствие (bg) n (udovólstvie), насла́да (bg) f (nasláda)
• Catalan: plaer (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 歡樂／欢乐 (zh) (huānlè), 樂趣／乐趣 (zh) (lèqù)

• Czech: potěšení (cs) m, rozkoš (cs) f, slast (cs) f
• Danish: fornøjelse c, behag n
• Dutch: plezier (nl) n, genoegen (nl) n, welbehagen (nl) n
• Esperanto: plezuro (eo), agrableco
• Estonian: lõbu
• Finnish: mielihyvä (fi), nautinto (fi), ilo (fi)
• French: plaisir (fr) m
• Galician: pracer (gl) m
• Georgian: სიამოვნება (siamovneba)
• German: Vergnügen (de) n
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌾𐍉𐌸𐌿𐍃 m (gabaurjōþus)
• Greek: ευχαρίστηση (el) f (efcharístisi), απόλαυση (el) f (apólafsi)

  Ancient Greek: ἦδος n (êdos)

• Haitian Creole: plezi
• Hebrew: עונג \ עֹגֶג (he) m ('óneg)
• Hindi: आनन्द (hi) m (ānand)
• Hungarian: öröm (hu), élvezet (hu), gyönyörűség (hu), gyönyör (hu), kéj (hu) (the latter two often imply sexual pleasure)
• Indonesian: kesenangan (id)
• Interlingua: placer
• Irish: pléisiúr m
• Italian: piacere (it) m, piacimento m, goduria (it) f
• Japanese: 喜び (ja) (よろこび, yorokobi), 快感 (ja) (かいかん, kaikan)
• Korean: 쾌락 (ko) (kwaerak), 환락 (ko) (hwallak), 기쁨 (ko) (gippeum), 즐거움 (ko) (jeulgeoum)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خۆشی (xoşî)

• Latgalian: prīca
• Latin: iucunditas f, delectatio f, oblectatio f, delectamentum n, gaudium n, dulcedo f
• Latvian: prieks (lv) m
• Ligurian: piâxéi m
• Lithuanian: malonumas m
• Lombard: piasé (lmo) m
• Luxembourgish: Plëséier m
• Macedonian: задоволство n (zadovolstvo)
• Maori: rēhia
• Mauritian Creole: jos
• Mongolian: баяр жаргал (bajar žargal)
• Norwegian: fornøyelse (no) m
• Occitan: plaser (oc) m
• Old English: lust m
• Persian: کیف (fa) (keyf), لذت (fa) (lezzat)
• Polish: przyjemność (pl) f
• Portuguese: prazer (pt) m
• Romanian: plăcere (ro) f
• Romansch: plaschair
• Russian: удово́льствие (ru) n (udovólʹstvije)
• Sanskrit: आनन्द (sa) (ānanda)
• Scottish Gaelic: tlachd f, gàirdeachas m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: задово̀љство n, ужи́так m

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

• Seychellois Creole: plezir
• Slovak: potešenie n
• Slovene: užitek m
• Spanish: placer (es) m
• Swahili: anasa class 9/10
• Swedish: nöje (sv) n, behag (sv) n
• Tagalog: kaaliwan (tl), kalugdan
• Thai: ความปิติยินดี
• Tocharian B: wīna, yāso
• Turkish: zevk (tr), memnuniyet (tr)
• Ukrainian: задово́лення n (zadovólennja), приє́мність f (pryjémnistʹ)
• Urdu: آنند (ur) m (ānand)
• Vietnamese: niềm vui thích
• Welsh: bodd m, boddhâd m, hyfrydwch m, mwynhâd m, mwyniant m or f, pleser (cy) m
• Yiddish: הנאה f (hanoe), חיות f (khayes), עונג m (oyneg), תּענוג m (tayneg), פֿאַרגעניגן n (fargenign), וווילטאָג m (voyltog), נחת n or m (nakhes)

person or thing that causes enjoyment

• Armenian: հաճույք (hy) (hačuykʿ)
• Azerbaijani: ləzzət (az), kef, hüsn (poetic), həzz (az), nəşə (az), səfa, zövq (az)
• Catalan: plaer (ca) m
• Esperanto: agrablaĵo
• Finnish: ilo (fi)
• French: plaisir (fr) m
• German: Freude (de) f, Spaß (de) m
• Hungarian: öröm (hu), élmény (hu), (for an activity) kedvtelés (hu), szórakozás (hu)
• Italian: piacere (it) m
• Ligurian: piâxéi m
• Luxembourgish: Plëséier m
• Portuguese: prazer (pt) m
• Russian: удово́льствие (ru) n (udovólʹstvije), наслажде́ние (ru) n (naslaždénije), удовлетворе́ние (ru) n (udovletvorénije), ра́дость (ru) f (rádostʹ), плотские радости (plotskije radosti), развлече́ние (ru) n (razvlečénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: tlachd f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: задово̀љство n, ужи́так m

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

• Spanish: placer (es) m
• Ukrainian: утіха f (utixa), втіха (vtixa), розра́да (rozráda)

sexual enjoyment

• Azerbaijani: həzz (az), ləzzət (az) (colloquial)
• Danish: vellyst
• Dutch: wellust (nl) m
• French: volupté (fr) f
• German: Wollust (de) f
• Hungarian: kéj (hu)
• Irish: sámhas m
• Italian: voluttà (it) f
• Latin: voluptas f
• Norwegian: vellyst f
• Portuguese: voluptuosidade (pt) f
• Russian: наслажде́ние (ru) n (naslaždénije)
• Spanish: voluptuosidad (es) f
• Swedish: vällust (sv) c
• Tocharian B: ykāssäññe, yśelme
• Turkish: şehvet (tr)

one's preference

• Albanian: këndë (sq) f
• French: désir (fr) m
• Hungarian: kívánság (hu), kedv (hu)
• Italian: preferenza (it) f, scelta (it) f
• Russian: скло́нность (ru) f (sklónnostʹ), располо́женность (ru) f (raspolóžennostʹ), жела́ние (ru) n (želánije), во́ля (ru) f (vólja)
• Serbo-Croatian: preferèncija (sh) f,

the will or desire of someone or some agency in power

• Hungarian: belátás (hu), megítélés (hu), tetszés (hu), óhaj (hu), kívánság (hu)
• Italian: piacimento m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked‌: "one's preference"

• American Sign Language: OpenB@Chest-PalmBack RoundSurface
• Czech: uspokojit (cs)
• German: Vergnügen bereiten (being pleased)
• Russian: ра́довать (ru) (rádovatʹ), доставля́ть удово́льствие (dostavljátʹ udovólʹstvije), удовлетворя́ть (ru) (udovletvorjátʹ)

Interjection

pleasure

1. pleased to meet you, "It's my pleasure"

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To give or afford pleasure to.

   Synonyms: please, gratify

   • 1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Aylmer’s Field”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 55:

     [H]e / [...] / Had tost his ball and flown his kite, and roll'd / His hoop to pleasure Edith, [...]

2. (transitive) To give sexual pleasure to.

   Johnny pleasured Jackie with his mouth last night.

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

   to go pleasuring

Derived terms

• pleasure oneself

 

Related terms

• displeasure
• please
• pleasant

Translations

to give pleasure to

• Catalan: agradar (ca)
• Esperanto: plezuri
• Portuguese: agradar (pt)
• Spanish: gustar (es)

Further reading

• “pleasure”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “pleasure”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• serpulae