pleasure

Pleasure is a general term for good feelings. People get pleasure from eating, sleeping, watching TV, or anything else they enjoy.

Pleasure is the opposite of pain. Pain feels bad, but pleasure feels good. People talk about sexual pleasure, but that's just one kind. People get pleasure from delicious foods, great movies, beautiful music, and all sorts of other things. Something as small as a comfortable chair and something as big as your candidate being elected President can bring pleasure. If you had a good time hosting your friends for lunch, you can tell them "It was a pleasure."

Definitions of pleasure
  1. noun
    something or someone that provides a source of happiness
    “the pleasure of his company”
    synonyms: delight, joy
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    type of:
    positive stimulus
    a stimulus with desirable consequences
  2. noun
    an activity that affords enjoyment
    “he puts duty before pleasure”
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    types:
    luxuriation
    an activity that affords excessive pleasure and enjoyment
    type of:
    activity
    any specific behavior
  3. noun
    a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
    “he was tingling with pleasure”
    synonyms: pleasance
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    Antonyms:
    pain, painfulness
    emotional distress; a fundamental feeling that people try to avoid
    types:
    show 16 types...
    hide 16 types...
    delectation, delight
    a feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction
    enjoyment
    the pleasure felt when having a good time
    pleasantness
    the feeling caused by agreeable stimuli; one pole of a continuum of states of feeling
    comfort
    a feeling of freedom from worry or disappointment
    sexual pleasure
    pleasure derived from sexual activities
    entrancement, ravishment
    a feeling of delight at being filled with wonder and enchantment
    amusement
    a feeling of delight at being entertained
    Schadenfreude
    delight in another person's misfortune
    joie de vivre
    a keen enjoyment of living
    gusto, relish, zest, zestfulness
    vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
    afterglow
    the pleasure of remembering some pleasant event
    consolation, solace, solacement
    the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment
    alleviation, assuagement, relief
    the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
    algolagnia, algophilia
    sexual pleasure derived from inflicting or experiencing pain
    sadism
    pleasure obtained by inflicting harm (physical or psychological) on others
    masochism
    sexual pleasure obtained from receiving punishment (physical or psychological)
    type of:
    feeling
    the experiencing of affective and emotional states
  4. noun
    sexual gratification
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    type of:
    sex, sex activity, sexual activity, sexual practice
    activities associated with sexual intercourse
  5. noun
    a formal expression
    “he serves at the pleasure of the President”
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    type of:
    choice, pick, selection
    the person or thing chosen or selected
Word Family
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