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Webster 1913 Edition


Pleasantry

Pleas′ant-ry

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Pleasantries
(#)
.
[F.
plaisanterie
. See
Pleasant
.]
That which denotes or promotes pleasure or good humor; cheerfulness; gayety; merriment; especially, an agreeable playfulness in conversation; a jocose or humorous remark; badinage.
The grave abound in
pleasantries
, the dull in repartees and points of wit.
Addison.
The keen observation and ironical
pleasantry
of a finished man of the world.
Macaulay.

Webster 1828 Edition


Pleasantry

PLEASANTRY

,
Noun.
plez'antry. Gayety; merriment.
The harshness of reasoning is not a little softened and smoothed by the infusions of mirth and pleasantry.
1.
Sprightly saying; lively talk; effusion of humor.
The grave abound in pleasantries, the dull in repartees and points of wit.

Definition 2024


pleasantry

pleasantry

English

Noun

pleasantry (plural pleasantries)

  1. A casual, courteous remark
  2. A playful remark; a jest
    • 2014, Daniel Taylor, England and Wayne Rooney see off Scotland in their own back yard (in The Guardian, 18 November 2014)
      Charlie Mulgrew could easily have been shown two yellow cards by a stricter referee and amid all the usual Anglo-Scottish pleasantries, the two sets of fans put an awful lot of effort into trying to drown out one another’s national anthems.

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