at the pleasure of (someone)
idiom
—used to say that something is done or can be done because someone wants it to be done
I serve at the pleasure of the president, and I will continue to serve as long as the president wants me to.
Examples of at the pleasure of (someone) in a Sentence
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Today, even China’s largest tech firms—regardless of their formal ownership structure—serve at the pleasure of President Xi Jinping, and the question of who controls China’s digital future has been decisively answered: the state.
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Ian Bremmer, Foreign Affairs, 13 May 2025
Better than the above outcome would be for Congress to rediscover its substantial power, power that includes oversight of regulatory bodies that exist at the pleasure of Congress, not themselves.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Most political appointees do serve at the pleasure of the president and are tasked with on some level carrying out his political agenda, but federal prosecutors have traditionally held onto a good amount of independence, for good reason.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 11 May 2025
Under its current structure, the department’s commissioner serves at the pleasure of the mayor, and at times that has created a complicated dynamic.
—Jan Ransom, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
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Ian Bremmer, Foreign Affairs, 13 May 2025
Better than the above outcome would be for Congress to rediscover its substantial power, power that includes oversight of regulatory bodies that exist at the pleasure of Congress, not themselves.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Most political appointees do serve at the pleasure of the president and are tasked with on some level carrying out his political agenda, but federal prosecutors have traditionally held onto a good amount of independence, for good reason.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 11 May 2025
Under its current structure, the department’s commissioner serves at the pleasure of the mayor, and at times that has created a complicated dynamic.
—Jan Ransom, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for at the pleasure of (someone)
Cite this Entry
“At the pleasure of (someone).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20the%20pleasure%20of%20%28someone%29. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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