delight
[noun]
Synonyms:
- pleasure, ecstasy, enjoyment, gladness, glee, happiness, joy, rapture
[verb]
Synonyms:
- please, amuse, charm, cheer, enchant, gratify, thrill
- delight in: take pleasure in, appreciate, enjoy, feast on, like, love, relish, revel in, savour

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Antonyms: aversion, disappointment
Contrasted words: aggrieve, distress, pain, trouble, afflict, try, grieve, bother, irk, bore, abhorrence, detestation, hate, hatred, dislike, distaste, discontent, dissatisfaction
Related Words: amuse, divert, entertain, allure, attract, charm, enchant, fascinate, enrapture, entrance, transport, glee, hilarity, jollity, mirth, ecstasy, rapture, contentment, satisfaction, relish

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English Thesaurus: happiness, pleasure, cheerfulness, satisfaction, contentment, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. de‧light¹ /dɪˈlaɪt/ noun

1. [uncountable] a feeling of great pleasure and satisfaction
with/in delight
The kids were screaming with delight.
to sb’s delight/to the delight of somebody
To the delight of his proud parents, he has made a full recovery.
squeal/gasp/cry etc of delight
She gave a little gasp of delight.

2. [countable] something that makes you feel very happy or satisfied
the delights of something
a chance to sample the delights of nearby Vienna
it is a delight to do something
It was a delight to see him so fit and healthy.

3. take delight in (doing) something to enjoy something very much, especially something you should not do:
Chris takes great delight in teasing his sister.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. delight² verb [transitive]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: delit, from Latin delectare 'to please greatly', from delicere 'to attract']
to give someone great satisfaction and enjoyment:
Her fabulous recipes will delight anyone who loves chocolate.
delight somebody with something
He is delighting audiences with his wit and humour.
delight in something phrasal verb [transitive not in passive]
to enjoy something very much, especially something that other people think is not nice:
He delights in complicating everything.
She delighted in interesting conversation.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

delight
noun
I. feeling of great pleasure
ADJ. deep, great, intense | absolute, utter | pure, sheer | mischievous, perverse | childish/childlike | endless | evident, obvious | mutual | aesthetic, sensual, spiritual His mind was reeling with an almost aesthetic delight at the beauty of the thing.
VERB + DELIGHT express | find, take She took evident delight in frightening the children with horror stories.
give sb | scream with, squeal with, whoop with Alice squealed with sheer delight when she saw the monkeys.
be greeted with The news was greeted with great delight.
PREP. in/with ~ We danced around with childish delight.
of ~ She gave a whoop of delight and dived into the water.
to your ~ To my great delight, they phoned and offered me the job.
~ at He expressed his delight at seeing us all again.
~ in I find a perverse delight in listening to traffic.
PHRASES a cry/gasp/squeal of delight, much to sb's delight Much to the delight of the crowd, the band came back and did three encores.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

delight
II. sth that gives great pleasure
ADJ. real | constant, continual The baby was a constant delight and source of amazement.
unexpected | culinary, gastronomic
VERB + DELIGHT explore, sample | enjoy, savour Savour the culinary delights of Morocco.
PREP. to The old lady's reminiscences were a continual delight to Constance.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

delight

great delight
It gave her great delight to tease him about his various girlfriends.
sheer/pure delight (=very great)
She opened the present and laughed with sheer delight.
obvious/evident (=easy to see)
Spencer was staring at the girl with obvious delight.
take/find delight in something (=enjoy something a lot)
He took delight in entertaining guests in his apartment.
squeal/scream with delight
Lucy suddenly saw the sea and screamed with delight.
laugh with delight
‘That’s a brilliant idea’! she said, laughing with delight.
greet something with delight
His suggestion was greeted with delight.
a squeal/gasp/cry etc of delight
The child gave a squeal of delight.
a source of delight (=something that gives great pleasure)
It’s a beautiful park and a source of delight to most visitors.
much to sb’s delight (also to sb’s great delight) (=used to say that something gave someone a lot of pleasure)
The princess stopped to talk to people, much to the delight of the crowd.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

happiness the feeling of being happy:
Happiness is more important than money.
I could see the happiness in her eyes.
pleasure the feeling you have when you enjoy doing something, or when something happens that you enjoy:
Are you taking the trip for business or pleasure?
His music has given pleasure to a great many people over the years.
cheerfulness happy feelings, which show in your expression, your voice, and your behaviour:
'Morning, everybody!' she said with a loud cheerfulness.
His normal cheerfulness seemed to have returned.
satisfaction the feeling you have when you have done something well, or when something is as good as it should be:
She stood back and looked at her work with satisfaction.
He gets a lot of satisfaction from helping young people in his coaching job.
contentment a quietly happy and satisfied feeling:
Joey sighed with contentment, snuggling down in his warm bed.
joy especially written a feeling of great happiness:
The sisters hugged and cried tears of joy.
It was a day of great joy for the whole town.
Most people would be jumping with joy.
delight the feeling you have when you are very pleased and excited because something good has happened:
They watched with delight as their new son started walking.
To her delight, she discovered the perfect wedding present.
bliss a feeling of very great happiness and great pleasure – used when something has a great effect on your senses:
Lying in the warm sun and listening to the sea felt like sheer bliss (=complete bliss).
Her idea of bliss is to be curled up on the sofa watching a romantic comedy with a big bowl of popcorn.
The happy couple looked a picture of domestic bliss.
elation written a feeling of great happiness and excitement, especially because you have achieved something or something good has happened to you:
As they reached the top, the climbers experienced a moment of elation.
Her mood suddenly changed from tears and misery to a feeling of elation.
euphoria an extremely strong feeling of happiness and excitement, especially because you have achieved something, or because of the effects of a drug:
The euphoria that new parents feel quickly changes to exhaustion.
The euphoria of Ireland’s amazing victory over England last Sunday has died away.
The drug produces a feeling of euphoria.
ecstasy an extremely strong feeling of happiness and pleasure, especially sexual pleasure:
It was a moment of sheer ecstacy (=complete ecstacy).
the ecstasy of their love-making

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

pleasure the feeling you have when you are doing something you enjoy or when something very nice has happened to you:
Most craftsmen get a lot of pleasure out of making things.
His music has brought pleasure to people all over the world.
happiness the feeling you have when you are happy:
Happiness is more important than money.
Pauline was willing to do anything for her children’s happiness.
I doubt she’ll find happiness with Gary.
joy especially written a deep feeling of great happiness, because something good has happened:
It’s hard to describe the joy we felt, seeing each other again after so many years.
They danced with joy when they heard the news.
delight great happiness and excitement, because something good that has happened:
To the audience’s delight, she agreed to play another song.
Imagine my delight when I found out that the house was for sale.
contentment a quietly happy and satisfied feeling, especially because you are happy with your work, your life etc:
He moved to the country and found contentment for the first time in his life.
She settled back in her chair and sighed with contentment.
euphoria /juːˈfɔːria $ jʊ-/ an extremely strong feeling of happiness and excitement that continues for a short time:
The whole country experienced a period of euphoria after the war ended.
the euphoria that parents feel after the birth of a child
elation /ɪˈleɪʃən/ formal a strong feeling of happiness and excitement, especially because you have achieved something:
After she had made her first landing, she experienced a great sense of elation.
The troops’ sense of elation at the victory was not to last.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲