1
as in courtesies
an act or utterance that is a customary show of good manners
"how are you" is merely a social pleasantry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in jokes
something said or done to cause laughter
his after-dinner speeches usually include the sort of gentle pleasantry that raises a chuckle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pleasantries
Usha Vance, the nation's second lady and wife of Vice President JD Vance, has spent her family's first year in office familiarizing herself with the pitfalls and pleasantries of public service.
—
Jay Stahl, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
After Harris and Shapiro sat down, in a dining room that had been cleared of most furniture other than two chairs and a table, there was little in the way of small talk or pleasantries.
—Toluse Olorunnipa, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
Beyond the system’s superficial tone and pleasantries, Martin and Souza had to contend with the serious issue of hallucinations, or instances in which AI systems confidently share false or exaggerated information.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 3 Jan. 2026
At the end of the day, as my family shared pictures and pleasantries from our morning together, the group text really just wanted the casserole recipe.
—Brennan Long, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025
After the game officially ended, players exchanged handshakes and pleasantries.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2025
Back in October, Buster Posey expressed his disdain of opposing players exchanging pleasantries before games.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Nov. 2025
Now as episode three hits the service, questions abound on the true nature of this joyous plague and the deep space transmission that caused all these annoying pleasantries.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 14 Nov. 2025
The two exchanged a handshake and pleasantries before San Francisco's win over Atlanta on Sunday.
—Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
Jay Stahl, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
After Harris and Shapiro sat down, in a dining room that had been cleared of most furniture other than two chairs and a table, there was little in the way of small talk or pleasantries.
—Toluse Olorunnipa, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
Beyond the system’s superficial tone and pleasantries, Martin and Souza had to contend with the serious issue of hallucinations, or instances in which AI systems confidently share false or exaggerated information.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 3 Jan. 2026
At the end of the day, as my family shared pictures and pleasantries from our morning together, the group text really just wanted the casserole recipe.
—Brennan Long, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025
After the game officially ended, players exchanged handshakes and pleasantries.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2025
Back in October, Buster Posey expressed his disdain of opposing players exchanging pleasantries before games.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Nov. 2025
Now as episode three hits the service, questions abound on the true nature of this joyous plague and the deep space transmission that caused all these annoying pleasantries.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 14 Nov. 2025
The two exchanged a handshake and pleasantries before San Francisco's win over Atlanta on Sunday.
—Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pleasantries
Noun
-
With both courtesies and catastrophes refusing to conform, the canton’s school board, publishers, and clergy were forced to produce multiple editions of primers, textbooks, and catechisms; sometimes five parallel print runs were needed for a population the size of a town.—
Simon Akam,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
-
Leonora measures out her days in courtesies and slights, the former dominating the beginning of the book, the latter rapidly gaining ground.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Williams plays his colleague Gaby, best friend to his dead wife and a ball of passion and dirty jokes.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
26 Jan. 2026
-
That’s a compliment, of course, as these are very, very funny jokes.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But Crockett puts equal value on the small gestures.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
3 Feb. 2026
-
The strained awkwardness of Adelina and Alban’s gestures of generosity underscore the class disparity between the city dwellers and their relatives.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There were a couple of unexpected wipeouts, including one by David Pastrnak, that elicited laughs from teammates.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The movie’s biggest laughs come from Kevin’s hijinks, which involve setting up complex booby traps to fend off a pair of burglars targeting his family’s home.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Chock-full of laugh-out-loud quips and wisecracks, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski and Cheryl Hines also join in on the fun in the boisterous 2017 sequel to the 2016 original Bad Moms.—
Lydia Price,
PEOPLE,
23 Dec. 2025
-
Boys in blue training kits gather in pockets of shade and trade wisecracks.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
On Tuesday morning, the Oscar winner ended her Today interview with host Craig Melvin in giggles after making a simple mistake, confusing one TV network for another.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Your personality shines and your giggles are so contagious.—
Latoya Gayle,
PEOPLE,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
During Bloomberg’s pursuit of office, a 1990 booklet in which business colleagues had compiled his witticisms surfaced.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
1 Jan. 2026
-
Perhaps the only thing Gore Vidal enjoyed more than dispensing witticisms—or sipping a Macallan single malt—was being photographed.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pleasantries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pleasantries. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
