enjoy

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive

   To get pleasure or satisfaction from an activity, person, place, or thing.

   Grammar: Takes a noun or -ing form: enjoy music, enjoy walking; not enjoy to walk.

   Patterns

   • enjoy something
   • enjoy doing something
   • enjoy oneself

   I enjoy coffee after lunch.

   We enjoyed walking around the old town.

   Did you enjoy yourself at the party?

2. 2verbtransitiveformal

   To have or experience something pleasant, such as good health, success, or quiet.

   Grammar: Formal or written use with abstract nouns: enjoy peace; still takes a direct object.

   Patterns

   • enjoy good health
   • enjoy success
   • enjoy peace

   The garden enjoys full sun in the afternoon.

   She enjoyed great success as a young engineer.

   The region enjoys a mild climate most of the year.

Word forms

Common combinations

enjoy doing

My grandmother enjoys baking on weekends.

enjoy life

After moving, he began to enjoy life more.

thoroughly enjoy

The children thoroughly enjoyed the science show.

enjoy every minute

She enjoyed every minute of the concert.

Synonyms and how they differ

like

Like is broader and weaker; enjoy suggests active pleasure and is common with -ing forms.

savor

Savor means enjoy slowly and deliberately, often food, drink, or a moment.

appreciate

Appreciate stresses recognizing value; enjoy stresses pleasure received.

Opposites

Word family

enjoyable adjective

giving pleasure; pleasant.

enjoyment noun

pleasure or satisfaction received from something.

enjoyably adverb

in a pleasant or pleasing way.

Commonly confused: enjoy or joy?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “enjoy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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