Word of the Day

: October 28, 2015

delectation

noun dee-lek-TAY-shun

What It Means

: delight, enjoyment

delectation in Context

During the reception, a three-piece string band performed for the delectation of the guests.

"The Kimbell Art Museum has the resources and reputation to bring masterpieces from major global museums to North Texas for our delectation." — Rick Brettell, The Dallas Morning News, 2 July 2015

Did You Know?

Pleasure, delight, and enjoyment are all synonyms and all signify the agreeable emotion accompanying the possession or expectation of what is good or greatly desired. Why, then, use delectation, that not-so-familiar synonym? Because, as with most synonym groups, each word has its own subtle distinctions. Pleasure stresses satisfaction or gratification of the senses. Delight adds the idea of liveliness or obviousness in that satisfaction, often less enduring than pleasure. Enjoyment suggests a wide range of deep pleasure, from merely transient though complete gratification to deep-seated happiness. Delectation (which is from the Latin word for "delight") suggests a reaction to pleasurable experience consciously sought or provided. More than all the others, it connotes mere amusement or diversion.