delightful

delightful — adjective

1. producing a powerful sense of happiness or satisfaction in someone who sees, hea

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

producing a powerful sense of happiness or satisfaction in someone who sees, hears, or experiences it

Example

The park was full of delightful flowers on a sunny spring afternoon.

delightful describing sensory experience

Guests found the homemade bread absolutely delightful with fresh butter.

pattern: find + noun + delightful

Common collocations
  • delightful surprise
  • delightful evening
  • delightful experience
  • delightful meal
  • delightful garden
  • delightful melody
  • delightful company
Synonyms
  • pleasant

    more general and less intense than delightful; suitable for everyday description

  • lovely

    more informal and often used in British English for warm, personal experiences

  • charming

    suggests a special quality of charisma or appeal, especially for people, places, or manners

  • enjoyable

    focuses on the experience or activity rather than the quality of the thing itself

Antonyms
  • unpleasant

    the direct opposite; causing dislike or discomfort

  • awful

    much stronger negative; extremely bad or unpleasant

Common Mistakes

She was delightful with the birthday gift.
She was delighted with the birthday gift.
'delightful' describes something that gives pleasure; 'delighted' describes how a person feels.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

While 'pleasant' is a neutral, all-purpose word for anything that gives mild satisfaction ('a pleasant afternoon'), 'delightful' is stronger and suggests a more vivid, memorable happiness. 'Lovely' is warmer and more informal, common in British speech ('what a lovely gift!'). 'Charming' adds a layer of personal appeal or charisma, often used for people, places, or manners ('a charming little village'). 'Enjoyable' stays focused on the activity or experience itself ('an enjoyable concert') rather than describing an inherent quality. Use 'delightful' when you want to convey that something actively filled you with happiness — for example, 'the children's concert was delightful, with everyone clapping along.'

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • absolutely delightful
  • truly delightful
  • simply delightful
  • quite delightful

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed from 'delight' (a feeling of great pleasure) plus the suffix '-ful', which means 'full of'. The noun 'delight' comes from Old French 'delit', meaning pleasure, which traces back to Latin 'delectare' — to charm or please.