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Antonyms for pleasing


Grammar : Adj
Spell : plee-zing
Phonetic Transcription : ˈpli zɪŋ



Definition of pleasing

Origin :
  • early 14c., "to be agreeable," from Old French plaisir "to please, give pleasure to, satisfy" (11c., Modern French plaire, the form of which is perhaps due to analogy of faire), from Latin placere "to be acceptable, be liked, be approved," related to placare "to soothe, quiet" (source of Spanish placer, Italian piacere), possibly from PIE *plak-e- "to be calm," via notion of still water, etc., from root *plak- (1) "to be flat" (see placenta).
  • Meaning "to delight" in English is from late 14c. Inverted use for "to be pleased" is from c.1500, first in Scottish, and paralleling the evolution of synonymous like (v.). Intransitive sense (e.g. do as you please) first recorded c.1500; imperative use (e.g. please do this), first recorded 1620s, was probably a shortening of if it please (you) (late 14c.). Related: Pleased; pleasing; pleasingly.
  • Verbs for "please" supply the stereotype polite word (e.g. "Please come in," short for may it please you to ...) in many languages (French, Italian), "But more widespread is the use of the first singular of a verb for 'ask, request' " [Buck, who cites German bitte, Polish proszę, etc.]. Spanish favor is short for hace el favor "do the favor." Danish has in this sense vær saa god, literally "be so good."
  • adj nice
Example sentences :
  • The fable is fanciful and pleasing in itself; but will it not hereafter be believed as reality?
  • Extract from : « Philothea » by Lydia Maria Child
  • Could any thing be pleasing to him, that you did not say or do?
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • This meal is not in the least unusual, but it is very dainty and pleasing.
  • Extract from : « Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5 » by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
  • The ceremony is gone through for the sake of pleasing a deity.
  • Extract from : « Understanding the Scriptures » by Francis McConnell
  • He knew that his appearance was quite as pleasing as that of his friend.
  • Extract from : « Her Father's Daughter » by Gene Stratton-Porter
  • He was pleasing to her as he had always been, and when that is so women forgive much.
  • Extract from : « Fair Margaret » by H. Rider Haggard
  • Some pleasing exceptions may be found to these observations.
  • Extract from : « Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II » by Francis Augustus Cox
  • And carrying my mother off with him, he left me to my pleasing reflections.
  • Extract from : « Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10) » by Maria Edgeworth
  • Grey is a colour, and can be a very powerful and pleasing colour.
  • Extract from : « Alarms and Discursions » by G. K. Chesterton
  • He was not without hopes of pleasing—what young man of nineteen or twenty is?
  • Extract from : « Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10) » by Maria Edgeworth

Synonyms for pleasing

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019