pleasantry

noun pleas·ant·ry \ -zᵊn-trē \

Definition of pleasantry

plural pleasantries

1 :a humorous act or remark :jest

2 :an agreeable playfulness in conversation :banter

3 :a polite social remark

exchanged pleasantries

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Examples of pleasantry in a Sentence

“how are you” is merely a social pleasantry
his after-dinner speeches usually include the sort of gentle pleasantry that raises a chuckle

Recent Examples of pleasantry from the Web

Though U of L and Purdue staffers have been friends and colleagues for a long time, Summers doesn't expect too many pleasantries to be exchanged before the game.

— steve jones, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville vs. Purdue | Mike Summers calls longtime colleague Jeff Brohm 'an incredible football coach and a great person'," 30 Aug. 2017
But the real discussions began after the pleasantries ended.

— lance pugmire, latimes.com, "Bevy of belts should boost boxer Terence Crawford's pound-for-pound standing," 18 Aug. 2017
Pleasantries in their own right, of course, but not the inline-five’s brassy, thick curdle of discordant harmonies, those deep thrums and shrill highs made possible by sparking combustion every 144 degrees of crankshaft rotation.

— clifford atiyeh, Car and Driver, "Fives Alive! We Track the 2018 Audi TT RS and RS3," 3 Aug. 2017
Two former presidents have gone from exchanging pleasantries with world leaders to trying to one-up each other with who has the smarter grandchildren.

— karen mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Bill ‘Pop-Pop’ Clinton and George W. ‘Jefe’ Bush Try to One-Up Each Other About Grandparenting," 14 July 2017
Some of these were casual encounters in large groups, like the famous July 2016 Kislyak–Sessions exchange of pleasantries at the Republican National Convention.

— charles krauthammer, National Review, "Bungled Collusion Is Still Collusion," 13 July 2017
But behind the pleasantries lay a disturbing topic of conversation: the condition of Depp’s finances.

— mark seal, Vanities, "How Did Johnny Depp Find Himself in a Financial Crisis?," 11 July 2017
Ahead of a formal, sit-down meeting, Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin were seen exchanging pleasantries as a leaders' retreat got under way in Hamburg.

— darlene superville and ken thomas, The Christian Science Monitor, "Grins and handshakes as Trump meets Putin at leaders' retreat," 7 July 2017
Diplomatic Pleasantries Solving the vexed question of keeping the peace and an open border between the U.K. province of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic will also be an urgent priority in the talks, Barnier and Davis agreed.

— tim ross, Bloomberg.com, "EU Wins First Battle of Brexit Talks as U.K. Retreats on Timing," 19 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pleasantry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of pleasantry

1594

pleasantry Synonyms

Synonyms

amenity, attention, courtesy, formality, gesture, civility, politeness

Related Words

honors; ceremony, observance, rite, ritual; decorum, etiquette, form, manners, mores, proprieties; addresses, devoirs, greetings, regards, respects; favor, grace, kindliness, kindness; protocol, rules

PLEASANTRY Defined for English Language Learners

pleasantry

noun

Definition of pleasantry for English Language Learners

: something (such as a greeting) that people say in order to be polite

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pleasantry

Definition of pleasantry

Examples of pleasantry in a Sentence

Recent Examples of pleasantry from the Web

First Known Use of pleasantry

pleasantry Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

PLEASANTRY Defined for English Language Learners

pleasantry

Definition of pleasantry for English Language Learners

Learn More about pleasantry

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First Known Use of pleasantry

pleasantry Synonyms

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PLEASANTRY Defined for English Language Learners

pleasantry

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