Home UK English delight

Meaning of delight in English:

delight

Pronunciation /dɪˈlʌɪt/

See synonyms for delight

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verb

[with object]

  • 1Please (someone) greatly.

    ‘an experience guaranteed to delight both young and old’
    • ‘It was here he held court late into the night, cajoling, entertaining and delighting friends from various walks of life.’
    • ‘The production made its Australian debut in 2000 receiving rave reviews from the Australian press and delighting audiences in Sydney and Melbourne.’
    • ‘Three capybaras have been born at the popular animal park and the babies are now delighting visitors as they lap up the autumn sunshine.’
    • ‘From first-year students right up to past pupils, many took to the stage with gusto with solo singers, duets, bands and dancers delighting the capacity audience.’
    • ‘During the 90s he was a fixture on the carnival and festival circuit, delighting huge crowds across the Caribbean, the US, and Europe.’
    • ‘He played the role for a decade and a half, delighting viewers with his portrayal of the irascible lawyer.’
    • ‘The increasing taxes are no doubt secretly delighting the politicians who pray on this addictive habit.’
    • ‘It is an enthralling book of revelations that he peels away like the delicate skins of an onion, constantly delighting his readers as they urgently devour its 483 pages.’
    • ‘I think we're in a very competitive marketplace, because unless we're delighting you, you won't choose us.’
    • ‘A variety of fish are already seen in the stream, delighting people who could have never imagined such a scene in the heart of a noisy and bustling metropolis.’
    • ‘I am sure my friend has a lovely baritone voice and will soon be delighting audiences in the Royal Albert Hall.’
    • ‘Everything from rock to reggae will take turns delighting the crowd.’
    • ‘We have a most jolly fellow for a postman and here of late I've been confounding and delighting him.’
    • ‘By all accounts this was a great show, delighting audiences with a huge array of exceptional acts and talent.’
    • ‘Based at the village hall, the group has been delighting audiences since it was founded in 1964.’
    please greatly, charm, enchant, captivate, entrance, bewitch, thrill, excite, take someone's breath away
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    1. 1.1delight inno object Take great pleasure in.
      ‘they delight in playing tricks’
      • ‘It keeps records of wrongs, delights in evil and rejoices in deception.’
      • ‘But when we say that ‘This is who X really is’ we are in fact delighting in evil and rejoicing in a lie.’
      • ‘The things I appreciated most and delighted in were simple.’
      • ‘I heartily adored you, delighting in your company and relishing your exuberant sense of humor.’
      • ‘She rejoiced over them, delighting in them, looking into my eyes with great joy.’
      • ‘His garden is a vivid display of summer colour and George delights in having the time to enjoy it.’
      • ‘Over the years, he enjoyed the company of many good friends and always delighted in sharing memories with his willing listeners.’
      • ‘The citizens of York delighted in the brilliant weather, which was enjoyed for the Whit Monday holiday.’
      • ‘He also delighted in seeing the girls team achieve such honour and glory over the past five years.’
      • ‘This change of heart almost ensures that I'll be in hospital pushing by the weekend, as my body delights in thwarting me at every turn.’
      • ‘He both delights in and is shocked by the games played, unmasking them, playing his own fantastic counter-tricks.’
      • ‘The installation delights in its own perversity and lo fi production values and challenges the viewer to come up with a formula to explain it.’
      • ‘No worker delights in taking a confrontational stand on the job.’
      • ‘There is a class of person who delights in trying to scare the pants off you with appalling tales of child-rearing horror.’
      • ‘He delights in the society of brilliant painters, singers and musicians.’
      • ‘Television today delights in bringing us programmes from hell and we now frequently read of rage.’
      • ‘She delights in mopping it up with the melted cheesey bread before it has time to congeal.’
      • ‘It's then that he's at his most effective - like a 9-year-old at the arcade, delighting in mowing down his imaginary foes with his BB gun.’
      • ‘They are a community of webloggers used to sharing their ideals and delighting in their own expression.’
      • ‘The writing is on the wall - and the people pointing to it are not just alarmists delighting in predictions of doom.’
      take great pleasure, find great pleasure, glory, revel, luxuriate, wallow
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noun

mass noun

  • 1Great pleasure.

    ‘the little girls squealed with delight’
    • ‘we broke into an impromptu dance, to the delight of the crowd’
    • ‘she took great delight in telling your story’
    • ‘He took great delight that she had already started her golf lessons.’
    • ‘She cast the door aside with a big wave of her hand, much to the delight of the girls behind her.’
    • ‘He'll grin and squeal with delight, and ignore me completely, which I'm fine with.’
    • ‘While dark clouds loomed the rain held off, much to the delight of participants and audience alike.’
    • ‘Washed by the summer rain, the green leaves have glistened, much to the delight of the tourists.’
    • ‘This is not the easiest musical combination to classify, much to the delight of its purveyors.’
    • ‘The end of a wonderful game played in the spirit of friendship and harmony much to the delight of everyone.’
    • ‘Our patients expressed sheer delight in participating in this effort.’
    • ‘Short, sweet and - you can imagine the perverse delight I have in pointing out - completely wrong.’
    • ‘How many loves have shared such pure delight?’
    • ‘Fabulous performances throughout, and the excitement and delight of the crowds is contagious.’
    • ‘Williams uncharacteristically lets the advantage slip, much to the delight of the crowd.’
    • ‘Once more, the delight of the crowd is fundamental to this strategy.’
    • ‘Rowena looked at the picture also, at the delight on all three faces.’
    • ‘And the grin of delight on the faces of the suppliers said it all.’
    • ‘The delight on her face is teaching me a lesson which marks my soul deeply.’
    • ‘To the dismay of its critics and the delight of its fans, romantic comedy is a formula genre.’
    • ‘How do you create customer satisfaction, customer delight, and customer ecstasy?’
    • ‘They invest a few pennies per customer per year in customer delight.’
    • ‘Pursue him to your heart's delight, because I do not care.’
    pleasure, happiness, joy, joyfulness, glee, gladness, gratification, relish, excitement, amusement
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    1. 1.1count noun A cause or source of great pleasure.
      ‘the trees here are a delight’
      • ‘Meanwhile, the city has become a gleaming, shining pretty pearl in a box of pleasures and delights.’
      • ‘All disciples of cinematic perversion know too well the delights of suffering in the face of intense pleasure.’
      • ‘Bored of earthly delights, he takes his compulsion for pleasure to the nth degree.’
      • ‘Not one, but three spectacular performance artists delivered their delights to a capacity crowd.’
      • ‘So please come one and all and be dazzled by the delights of our talented local artists.’
      • ‘Not just for honeymooners, Florence has art, architecture and culinary delights on every sculptured corner.’
      • ‘True, this leads to potential confusion when ordering from the smorgasbord of delights at a fish and chip shop.’
      • ‘And there are the quickie meals for those who have no time to enjoy culinary delights at a leisurely pace.’
      • ‘Now to sample the culinary delights of America.’
      • ‘The 4,000 sq. ft. lounge is a pure visual delight.’
      • ‘Let me be maudlin and say the book is a sheer delight.’
      • ‘Enjoy culinary delights at international food booths representing more than 40 countries.’
      • ‘No wonder so many people brave the dark roads to sample the delights on offer.’
      • ‘You could say it's their gastronomic delight, their favourite treat.’
      • ‘Here I let the tide push me along the wall and savoured the marine delights on offer.’
      • ‘Adults too can relax and enjoy the delights on offer at many of the places around the region.’
      • ‘On account of the gastronomic delights, I actually recommenced my walking while there.’
      • ‘When harvested they make even the simplest meal seem like a gourmet delight.’
      • ‘Mid-year on the far north coast is a gardener's delight, so get out there and enjoy it.’
      • ‘The programme promises to be a delight for the connoisseurs of music.’
      beautiful sight, vision of loveliness, feast for the eyes, pleasure to behold, delight, dream, beauty, spectacle, picture, joy, marvel, sensation
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Origin

Middle English from Old French delitier (verb), delit (noun), from Latin delectare ‘to charm’, frequentative of delicere. The -gh- was added in the 16th century by association with light.