Meaning & use
pleased
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Feeling happy and satisfied because something has gone well or turned out as hoped.
Grammar: Often follows a linking verb and takes a preposition: she was pleased with her grade.
Patterns
- pleased with something
- pleased about something
- pleased to do something
- pleased that something happens
The teacher was pleased with how much the class had improved.
I'm very pleased that you could come tonight.
They were pleased about the news of the promotion.
adjectiveafter a verbformal
Used politely in greetings and formal messages to show that you are glad to do or meet something.
Grammar: Appears after be and before to plus a verb: I am pleased to inform you.
Patterns
- pleased to meet you
- pleased to announce something
- pleased to inform you that
Pleased to meet you; I've heard so much about you.
We are pleased to announce the opening of a new branch.
I am pleased to inform you that your application was successful.
adjectivebefore a noun
Showing satisfaction, as in the look on someone's face or the way they behave.
Grammar: Used before a noun to describe a look or smile: a pleased expression.
Patterns
- a pleased look
- a pleased smile
He gave a pleased smile when his name was called.
She wore a pleased expression after the meeting.
There was a pleased murmur from the audience.
Word forms
| comparative | more pleased |
|---|---|
| superlative | most pleased |
Common combinations
- pleased with yourself
- He looked rather pleased with himself after the win.
- very pleased
- We are very pleased with the new design.
- pleased to meet you
- Hello, I'm Maria. Pleased to meet you.
- pleased to announce
- The school is pleased to announce its new library.
- not at all pleased
- My boss was not at all pleased about the delay.
Synonyms and how they differ
- glad
- It is a little warmer and more everyday, while pleased can sound more reserved and formal.
- delighted
- It is much stronger than pleased and expresses great joy.
- satisfied
- It suggests your needs or expectations were met, where pleased adds some happiness.
- happy
- It is the broadest and most general word, and it need not be tied to a specific result.
Opposites
Word family
- please verb
- to make someone happy
- pleasure noun
- a feeling of enjoyment
- pleasing adjective
- giving enjoyment or satisfaction
- displeased adjective
- annoyed or not happy
- pleasantly adverb
- in an agreeable way
Commonly confused: pleased or pleasing?
pleased vs pleasing
Pleasing describes the thing that causes the feeling, such as a pleasing view, while pleased describes the person who feels it.
Practice
The manager was pleased ___ the quick progress of the project.
Choose one answer.
Pleased with something is the standard pattern for what has satisfied you. To needs a verb after it, and from and for are not used with pleased in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pleased”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.