delight

1 of 2

noun

de·​light di-ˈlīt How to pronounce delight (audio)
dē-
Synonyms of delight
1
: a high degree of gratification or pleasure : joy
children squealing in delight
also : extreme satisfaction
seems to take delight in the misfortunes of others
2
: something that gives great pleasure
Her performance was a delight.
3
archaic : the power of affording pleasure
… of more delight than hawks or horses be …—Shakespeare

delight

2 of 2

verb

delighted; delighting; delights

intransitive verb

1
: to take great pleasure
delighted in playing the guitar
2
: to give keen enjoyment
a book certain to delight

transitive verb

: to give joy or satisfaction to
Her books delight readers of all ages.
delighter noun

Synonyms of delight

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Noun

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of delight in a Sentence

Noun We watched the fireworks with delight. The kids screamed in delight as they chased one another around the park. To the delight of the children, there were enough cookies for everyone to have two. Some people seem to take great delight in hearing about the misfortunes of others. The trip was a delight. a garden full of tasty delights The magazine is a cook's delight. The stories are a delight to read. Verb The toy delighted the children. The stories will delight readers of all ages.
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
Food and drink Designed as a half-board property, breakfast and dinner are complimentary for all guests and are a true delight. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Oct. 2026 Beautiful cemeteries can captivate with their artistic and architectural elegance, entice with lessons in local history, and tantalize the senses with botanical delights. — Mitchell Gilburne, Architectural Digest, 26 Oct. 2026
Verb
An example of an organization that treats the employee as customer and work as product is Dropbox, which after Covid redesigned work as a product that must delight their employees. — Deborah Lovich, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026 Home favorite Siao delighted the home crowd, which also saw the French Olympic champion team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron dominate the ice dance event. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for delight

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English delit, delite, borrowed from Anglo-French delit, noun derivative of deliter "to delight entry 2"

Note: Regarding the spelling, see note at delight entry 2.

Verb

Middle English deliten, borrowed from Anglo-French deliter (continental Old French delitier), going back to Latin dēlectāre "to entice, exert fascination on, charm, be a source of delight to," frequentative of dēliciō, dēlicere "to lure, entice," from dē- de- + lacere "to entice, inveigle," of uncertain origin

Note: Spellings with a nonexistent velar fricative (deliht, deliȝt, delight), by analogy with light entry 1, sight entry 1, etc., first appear in the noun in Middle English and become predominant for both noun and verb by ca. 1600. – The simple verb lacere is attested only in the etymological musings of the grammarian Pompeius Festus; it apparently was ousted early on by the frequentative lactāre. Similarly, dēlicere is rare textually, having been replaced by dēlectāre. The verb has been compared with laqueus "loop of rope, noose, snare," but a derivative such as dēlicia (see delicious) shows no trace of a labiovelar.

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of delight was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing delight

Rhymes for delight

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Browse Nearby Words

delieret
delight
delighted
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Delight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/delight. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

delight

1 of 2 noun
de·​light di-ˈlīt How to pronounce delight (audio)
1
: extreme pleasure or satisfaction : joy
2
: something that gives great pleasure

delight

2 of 2 verb
1
: to take great pleasure
delighted in playing guitar
2
: to give joy or satisfaction to : please greatly
a book sure to delight
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