I. de ‧ light 1 /dɪˈlaɪt/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [uncountable] a feeling of great pleasure and satisfaction
with/in delight
The kids were screaming with delight.
to sb’s delight/to the delight of somebody
To the delight of his proud parents, he has made a full recovery.
squeal/gasp/cry etc of delight
She gave a little gasp of delight.
2 . [countable] something that makes you feel very happy or satisfied
the delights of something
a chance to sample the delights of nearby Vienna
it is a delight to do something
It was a delight to see him so fit and healthy.
3 . take delight in (doing) something to enjoy something very much, especially something you should not do:
Chris takes great delight in teasing his sister.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ great delight
It gave her great delight to tease him about his various girlfriends.
▪ sheer/pure delight (=very great)
She opened the present and laughed with sheer delight.
▪ obvious/evident (=easy to see)
Spencer was staring at the girl with obvious delight.
■ verbs
▪ take/find delight in something (=enjoy something a lot)
He took delight in entertaining guests in his apartment.
▪ squeal/scream with delight
Lucy suddenly saw the sea and screamed with delight.
▪ laugh with delight
‘That’s a brilliant idea’! she said, laughing with delight.
▪ greet something with delight
His suggestion was greeted with delight.
■ phrases
▪ a squeal/gasp/cry etc of delight
The child gave a squeal of delight.
▪ a source of delight (=something that gives great pleasure)
It’s a beautiful park and a source of delight to most visitors.
▪ much to sb’s delight ( also to sb’s great delight ) (=used to say that something gave someone a lot of pleasure)
The princess stopped to talk to people, much to the delight of the crowd.
II. delight 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: delit , from Latin delectare 'to please greatly' , from delicere 'to attract' ]
to give someone great satisfaction and enjoyment:
Her fabulous recipes will delight anyone who loves chocolate.
delight somebody with something
He is delighting audiences with his wit and humour.
delight in something phrasal verb [transitive not in passive]
to enjoy something very much, especially something that other people think is not nice:
He delights in complicating everything.
She delighted in interesting conversation.