1
as in gesture
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 joke
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 pleasantry
Liberation Weekend aims to build on the ambitions of 2020s showcases like New Haven’s T4T Fest while avoiding the docile pleasantries of larger organizations beholden to corporate and political donors.
—
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 9 Apr. 2025
Demi Moore, in Giorgio Armani, exchanged pleasantries with Miles Teller.
—Ryma Chikhoune, WWD, 2 Mar. 2025
In other cases, Trump exchanged pleasantries with other leaders who have been working on parallel efforts to help resolve the Ukraine war.
—Catherine Nicholls, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2025
Cameras captured Trump and Obama at Washington National Cathedral exchanging pleasantries, with Obama laughing at something the incoming president was saying.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pleasantry
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 9 Apr. 2025
Demi Moore, in Giorgio Armani, exchanged pleasantries with Miles Teller.
—Ryma Chikhoune, WWD, 2 Mar. 2025
In other cases, Trump exchanged pleasantries with other leaders who have been working on parallel efforts to help resolve the Ukraine war.
—Catherine Nicholls, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2025
Cameras captured Trump and Obama at Washington National Cathedral exchanging pleasantries, with Obama laughing at something the incoming president was saying.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pleasantry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pleasantry
Noun
-
Social media content featuring rude hand gestures was scrubbed from the internet.—
Stephanie Yang,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
-
Boxes and cylinders and prisms can no longer do that, and the lone remaining expressive gesture is to Go Weird, as architects strain for enough distinctiveness to produce a landmark.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
Surrounded by her animals at home, Lin watched re-runs of The Big Bang Theory, practicing the cadence of the words, the rising sound of a joke, the pacing of each phrase.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 June 2025
-
The site’s users took great joy in watching the feud in real time, responding to the showdown between the president and the world’s wealthiest man with jokes and memes.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
Seattle Sounders are there courtesy of a historic Concacaf Champions League win in 2022, while Los Angeles FC benefited from a controversial multi-club ownership mixup, which saw Club León kicked out.—
James Nalton,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
-
There are savory options, too, courtesy of Viera: broccoli hot pockets and Calabrian cheese rolls, for example, as well as a gloriously dripping, flavorful, must-have egg and bacon sandwich on an English muffin.—
Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
13 June 2025
Noun
-
There are a lot of fun moments during the annual Big Slick weekend in Kansas City, and the laughs are shared by the celebrities who take part as well as the audience at the softball game and the gala.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
5 June 2025
-
If a client senses that every friendly laugh and personal anecdote was just bait on the hook, the entire relationship collapses into a transaction.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pleasantry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pleasantry. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share