pleased adjective – Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Synonyms

glad

glad

happy

▪

pleased

▪

delighted

▪

proud

▪

relieved

▪

thrilled

These words all describe people feeling happy about something that has happened or is going to happen.

glad

[not usually before noun] happy about something or grateful for it:

• He was glad he’d come.

• She was glad when the meeting was over.

[not usually before noun] happy about something or grateful for it:

happy

pleased about something nice that you have to do or something that has happened to somebody:

• We are happy to announce the engagement of our daughter.

pleased about something nice that you have to do or something that has happened to somebody:

pleased

[not before noun] happy about something that has happened or something that you have to do:

• She was very pleased with her exam results.

• You’re coming? I’m so pleased.

[not before noun] happy about something that has happened or something that you have to do:

glad, happy or pleased?

Feeling

pleased

can suggest that you have judged somebody/​something and approve of them. Feeling

glad

can be more about feeling grateful for something. You cannot be ‘glad with somebody’:

The boss should be glad with you.

Happy

can mean glad, pleased or satisfied.

delighted

very pleased about something; very happy to do something; showing your delight:

• I’m delighted at your news.

Delighted

is often used to accept an invitation:

‘Can you stay for dinner?’ ‘I’d be delighted (to).’

very pleased about something; very happy to do something; showing your delight:

proud

pleased and satisfied about something that you own or have done, or are connected with:

• proud parents

• He was

  proud of

  himself for not giving up.

pleased and satisfied about something that you own or have done, or are connected with:

relieved

feeling happy because something unpleasant has stopped or has not happened; showing this:

• You’ll be relieved to know your jobs are safe.

feeling happy because something unpleasant has stopped or has not happened; showing this:

thrilled

[not before noun] (

rather informal

) extremely pleased and excited about something:

• I was thrilled to be invited.

[not before noun] () extremely pleased and excited about something:

delighted or thrilled?

Thrilled

may express a stronger feeling than

delighted

, but

delighted

can be made stronger with

absolutely

,

more than

or

only too

.

Thrilled

can be made negative and ironic with

not exactly

or

less than

:

She was

not exactly thrilled

at the prospect of looking after her niece.

Patterns

• glad/​happy/​pleased/​delighted/​relieved/​thrilled

  about

  something

• pleased/​delighted/​relieved/​thrilled

  at

  something

• glad/​happy/​pleased/​delighted/​thrilled

  for

  somebody

• glad/​happy/​pleased/​delighted/​proud/​relieved/​thrilled

  that…/to see/​hear/​find/​know…

• very

  glad/​happy/​pleased/​proud/​relieved

• absolutely

  delighted/​thrilled