pleasant

adjective

pleas·​ant ˈple-zᵊnt How to pronounce pleasant (audio)
Synonyms of pleasant
1
: having qualities that tend to give pleasure : agreeable
a pleasant day
2
: having or characterized by pleasing manners, behavior, or appearance
pleasantly adverb
pleasantness noun

Synonyms of pleasant

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of pleasant in a Sentence

the pleasant smell of cookies baking in the oven We had a pleasant conversation. Our evening together was pleasant but not very exciting. I didn't know you were coming. What a pleasant surprise! Their new teacher seems pleasant enough. a very pleasant young man
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Following a pleasant morning, afternoon temperatures will peak closer to 80 degrees, with a mix of sun, clouds and drier-feeling air. — Steven Sosna, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026 The comfortable relationship is the one where conversations stay pleasant, meetings end on time, and nobody says the thing that might make the room tense. — K.h. Koehler, Freep.com, 20 Aug. 2026 The Chargers had a pleasant start to preseason play with a 27-7 road win over the Houston Texans last week. — Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026 With time for a quick lunch, Zouaghi enjoyed a pleasant farm-to-table meal at Five March before continuing to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, one of Glasgow’s premier cultural institutions. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pleasant

Word History

Etymology

Middle English plesaunt, from Anglo-French plaisant, from present participle of plaisir

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pleasant was in the 14th century

Rhymes for pleasant

See All Rhymes for pleasant

Browse Nearby Words

pleasance
pleasant
Pleasant Grove
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pleasant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pleasant. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

pleasant

adjective
pleas·​ant ˈplez-ᵊnt How to pronounce pleasant (audio)
1
: giving pleasure : agreeable
a pleasant day
2
: having or marked by pleasing manners, behavior, or appearance
the new teacher is very pleasant
pleasantly adverb
pleasantness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on pleasant

Nglish: Translation of pleasant for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of august

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All