delight

1 of 2

noun

de·​light di-ˈlīt 

dē-

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

Noun

• joy

Verb

• joy
• triumph

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

Noun

And when diners nearby half-turned their heads to check if the foreigner liked it, Chen saw my expression of delight. —Mike Valerio, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025

Afterward, lounge around on cushions, sip Turkish tea, and nibble on Turkish delight to complete your hammam experience. —Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 8 Nov. 2025

Verb

One-by-one, these teams utterly transformed their way of working because the entire design and execution of the program was based on delighting them and adding value at every touchpoint. —Phil Gilbert, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025

SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. —Lee Billings, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2025

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

Phrases Containing delight

• delight in
• take delight in
• to someone's delight
• Turkish delight

Rhymes for delight

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight

Kids Definition

delight

1 of 2 noun

de·​light di-ˈlīt 

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