pleasure

/ˈplɛʒə/

//ˈplɛʒə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pleasure" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pleasure” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,639. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,639
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A state of being pleased or contented; gratification.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pleasure · pleasure · English

pleasure · rank #2,639 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,639
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH personally

Nearest frequency peer: personally (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pleasure”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pleasure” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pleasure vs pressure
75% similar
pleasure vs pleasures
89% similar
pleasure vs please
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pleasure
PropertyValue
Headwordpleasure
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈplɛʒə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,639
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pleasure”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).pleasurelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “personally” (#2,638), “prefer” (#2,640), “permanent” (#2,637). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pleasure” is #2,639. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around pleasure (IPA /ˈplɛʒə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,639 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for pleasure, with forms such as "lpeasure", "pelasure", and "plaesure". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "pressure", "pleasures", "please", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Early Modern English pleasur, plesur, alteration (with ending accommodated to -ure) of Middle English plaisir (“pleasure”), from Old French plesir, plaisir (“to please”), infinitive used as a noun, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin place… The correct English form is pleasure, spelled P-L-E-A-S-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A state of being pleased or contented; gratification.
  2. 2
    A person, thing or action that causes enjoyment.
  3. 3
    Sexual enjoyment.
  4. 4
    One's preference.
  5. 5
    The will or desire of someone or some agency in power.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pleasure appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He remembered with pleasure his home and family.
  2. I get a lot of pleasure from watching others work hard while I relax.

Etymology

From Early Modern English pleasur, plesur, alteration (with ending accommodated to -ure) of Middle English plaisir (“pleasure”), from Old French plesir, plaisir (“to please”), infinitive used as a noun, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placeō (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-k- (“wide and flat”). Related to Dutch plezier (“pleasure, fun”). More at please.

Synonyms

beatitudeblissdelectationdelightecstasyeuphorialustnirvanapleasureraptureravishmenttransport

Antonyms

agony

This word in other languages

placer(Español)plaisir(Français)Vergnügen(Deutsch)prazer(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpeasure
  • pelasure
  • plaesure
  • pleasrue
  • pleassure
  • pleasuer
  • pleasurre
  • pleausre
  • plesaure
  • plleasure
  • ppleasure

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pleasure - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

lpeasure2pelasure2plaesure2pleasrue2pleassure1pleasuer2pleasurre1pleausre2
Edit distance from "pleasure"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pleasure"?
"pleasure" is spelled P-L-E-A-S-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈplɛʒə/.
What does "pleasure" mean?
As a noun, "pleasure" means: A state of being pleased or contented; gratification.
What words are commonly confused with "pleasure"?
"pleasure" is commonly confused with "pressure", "pleasures", "please". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pleasure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pleasure" is /ˈplɛʒə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pleasure"?
From Early Modern English pleasur, plesur, alteration (with ending accommodated to -ure) of Middle English plaisir (“pleasure”), from Old French plesir, plaisir (“to please”), infinitive used as a noun, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from L... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pleasure", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

occurred#2,634normally#2,633chemical#2,618consumer#2,662

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

anybody11 variantsClinton11 variantsDrivers11 variantsacademic11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list