What does delight mean?
Delight is a noun and verb describing intense pleasure or joy. As a noun, it names the feeling itself — the delight of a child on Christmas morning or of a reader lost in a good book. As a verb, it works in two directions: something can delight you (give you pleasure), or you can take delight in something (derive pleasure from it). The word carries warm, genuinely happy connotations and is slightly more elevated than casual terms like 'fun' or 'enjoy', making it common in both heartfelt personal writing and polished prose. Common patterns include 'take delight in', 'with delight', and 'to my delight'. Its adjective form, delightful, describes things that cause this pleasure. Delight is a useful word precisely because it names a specific quality of joy — spontaneous, keen, and often touched by surprise or wonder rather than mere contentment.
Great pleasure or joy; a feeling of strong satisfaction.
"Her face lit up with delight as she unwrapped the gift."
A source or cause of great pleasure.
"The garden is a delight throughout the spring months."
Often used with an indefinite article: 'a delight' meaning something that gives pleasure.
To give great pleasure, joy, or satisfaction to someone.
"The magician's tricks never fail to delight the audience."
To take great pleasure in something; to enjoy keenly.
"He delights in finding flaws in other people's arguments."
Typically followed by 'in': 'to delight in something'.
The plural 'delights' usually refers to multiple sources or kinds of pleasure rather than separate instances of a single emotion.
"The city's culinary delights draw visitors from around the world."
Delight once meant simply 'to please' — but somewhere along the way, it picked up enough charm to name one of life's purest joys.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of delight
Delight comes from Old French 'delitier', meaning 'to please greatly', which itself derives from Latin 'delectare' — a frequentative form of 'delicare' meaning 'to allure' or 'to entice'. The word entered English around the 13th century, initially spelled various ways including 'delite'. Cognates from the same Latin root include delicious, delicacy, delectable, and dilettante, all carrying senses connected to pleasure or enjoyment.
Related word forms
How delight is actually used
Delight is a warm, positive word used in both everyday and formal registers. As a verb it often appears with an object ('the news delighted her') or in the phrase 'take delight in'. It carries a slightly more literary or elevated tone than simple words like 'like' or 'enjoy'.
Easily confused with delight
'Delite' is not a standard English word; the correct spelling is 'delight'.