Meanings
verbenjoy (third-person singular simple present enjoys, present participle enjoying, simple past and past participle enjoyed)
present singular third person enjoys · participle present enjoying · participle past enjoyed · past enjoyed · alternative obsolete enioy · alternative obsolete injoy
- transitiveTo receive pleasure or satisfaction from something.
Enjoy your holidays! I very much enjoy dancing.
5 more examples
I've really enjoyed you and your sister showing me around.
And we shall sit at endless feast, Enjoying each the other’s good; What vaster dream can hit the mood Of Love on earth?
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XLVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 69"Well, why did you tell me?" said I softly, to enjoy her flutters of amazement , of dismay.
1904, The Loves of Edwy, Lothrop Publishing Company, page 239It is not a crime to enjoy some bacon or a trout or what have you.
2008, Christopher Paolini, “To Walk the Land Alone”, in Brisingr, page 73Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4Synonyms: appreciate, delight in, rejoice, relish, pleasure, feast, groove
- transitiveTo have the use or benefit of something.
I plan to go travelling while I still enjoy good health.
4 more examples
that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 36:8Night and day were the same in this prison room, but Tommy's wrist-watch, which enjoyed a certain degree of accuracy, informed him that it was nine o'clock in the evening.
1922, Agatha Christie, “Chapter 17”, in The Secret AdversaryThis account fails to provide any basis for doubting that animals of subhuman species enjoy the freedom it defines.
1988, Harry G Frankfurt, The importance of what we care about: philosophical essaysThe Indo-Arabic system was introduced into Europe in 1000 CE, but due to resistance from several quarters, centuries elapsed before it finally enjoyed widespread use.
2008, Jonathan Borwein, David Bailey, Mathematics by ExperimentSynonyms: rejoice
- transitiveTo have sexual intercourse with.
Never did thy Beautie[…]so enflame my sense With ardor to enjoy thee.
1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLCSynonyms: coitize
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo receive pleasure or satisfaction from something.
verbTo have the use or benefit of something.
Similar
verbTo have sexual intercourse with.
Similar
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
verbderive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchenjoier
- Middle Englishenjoyen
- Englishenjoy
From Middle English enjoyen, from Old French enjoier, anjoier, enjoer (“to give joy, receive with joy, rejoice”), equivalent to en- + joy.
More words from Middle English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek τέρπομαι
- τέρπομαι (térpomai)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Arabic اِسْتَمْتَعَ, تَمَتَّعَ
- اِسْتَمْتَعَ (istamtaʕa)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- تَمَتَّعَ (tamattaʕa)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- اِنْبَسَطَ (inbasaṭa)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- حَظِيَ (ḥaẓiya)to have the use or benefit of something
Basque gozatu
- gozatuto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Bulgarian ра́двам се, изпи́твам удово́лствие
- ра́двам се (rádvam se)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- изпи́твам удово́лствие (izpítvam udovólstvie)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- наслаждавам се (naslaždavam se)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- наслади́ се (nasladí se)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Catalan gaudir, gaudir
- gaudirto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- gaudirto have the use or benefit of something
Chinese Cantonese 享受
- 享受 (hoeng² sau⁶)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Chinese Mandarin 欣賞 /欣赏, 喜愛 /喜爱
- 欣賞 /欣赏 (xīnshǎng)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- 喜愛 /喜爱 (xǐ'ài)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- 享受 (xiǎngshòu)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- 享有 (xiǎngyǒu)to have the use or benefit of something
- 享受 (xiǎngshòu)to have the use or benefit of something
- 享用 (xiǎngyòng)to have the use or benefit of something
- 受用 (shòuyòng)to have the use or benefit of something
Czech bavit se, těšit se
- bavit seto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- těšit seto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- těšit seto have the use or benefit of something
Danish nyde
- nydeto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Dutch genieten van, genieten
- genieten vanto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- genietento have the use or benefit of something
Esperanto ĝui
- ĝuito receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Estonian nautima
- nautimato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Finnish nauttia, nauttia
- nauttiato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- nauttiato have the use or benefit of something
French profiter de, jouir de
- profiter deto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- jouir deto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- apprécierto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- prendre plaisirto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- jouir deto have the use or benefit of something
- bénéficier deto have the use or benefit of something
German genießen, sich erfreuen an
- genießento receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- sich erfreuen anto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- genießento have the use or benefit of something
Greek απολαμβάνω
- απολαμβάνω (apolamváno)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Hebrew נֶהֱנָה, השתמש
- נֶהֱנָה (nehená)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- השתמש (hishtamésh)to have the use or benefit of something
Hindi आनंद लेना, मज़े लेना
- आनंद लेना (ānand lenā)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- मज़े लेना (maze lenā)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- उपभोग करना (upbhog karnā)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Hungarian élvez, szeret
- élvezto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- szeretto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- élvezto have the use or benefit of something
- örvendto have the use or benefit of something
Icelandic njóta
- njótato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Indonesian menikmati
- menikmatito receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Irish bain sult as, bain taitneamh as
- bain sult asto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- bain taitneamh asto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- bain spórt asto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Italian godere, fare con piacere
- godereto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- fare con piacereto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- gioireto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- divertirsito receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- usufruireto have the use or benefit of something
- godereto have the use or benefit of something
- beneficiareto have the use or benefit of something
Japanese 楽しむ, 享受する
- 楽しむ (tanoshimu)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- 享受する (kyōju suru)to have the use or benefit of something
Korean 즐기다, 향수하다
- 즐기다 (jeulgida)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- 향수하다 (hyangsuhada)to have the use or benefit of something
- 누리다 (nurida)to have the use or benefit of something
Latin fruor, fruor
- fruorto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- fruorto have the use or benefit of something
Māori hākinakina
- hākinakinato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Norwegian Bokmål nyte
- nyteto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Persian لذت بردن
- لذت بردن (lezzat bordan)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Polish cieszyć się, pocieszyć się
- cieszyć sięto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- pocieszyć sięto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- podobać sięto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- spodobać sięto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Portuguese aproveitar, desfrutar
- aproveitarto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- desfrutarto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- gozarto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- curtirto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- apreciarto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- aproveitarto have the use or benefit of something
- gozar deto have the use or benefit of something
- desfrutar deto have the use or benefit of something
Romanian savura, bucura
- savurato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- bucurato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- distrato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Russian наслажда́ться, наслади́ться
- наслажда́ться (naslaždátʹsja)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- наслади́ться (nasladítʹsja)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- получа́ть удово́льствие (polučátʹ udovólʹstvije)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- получи́ть удово́льствие (polučítʹ udovólʹstvije)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- по́льзоваться (pólʹzovatʹsja)to have the use or benefit of something
Scottish Gaelic còrd ri, meal
- còrd rito receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- mealto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- gabh tlachd annto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Slovak tešiť sa, baviť sa
- tešiť sato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- baviť sato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Spanish disfrutar, gozar
- disfrutarto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- gozarto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- fruirto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- disfrutarto have the use or benefit of something
- gozarto have the use or benefit of something
- aprovecharto have the use or benefit of something
- fruirto have the use or benefit of something
Swedish tycka om, njuta
- tycka omto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- njutato receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- åtnjutato have the use or benefit of something
Tamil ரசி
- ரசி (raci)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Thai เพลิดเพลิน
- เพลิดเพลิน (plə̂ət-pləən)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Turkish zevk almak, haz almak
- zevk almakto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- haz almakto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- eylenmekto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- eğlenmekto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Ukrainian насоло́джуватися, насолоди́тися
- насоло́джуватися (nasolódžuvatysja)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- насолоди́тися (nasolodýtysja)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- усоло́джуватися (usolódžuvatysja)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- усолоди́тися (usolodýtysja)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- ті́шитися (tíšytysja)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- наті́шитися (natíšytysja)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- зазнава́ти насоло́ди (zaznaváty nasolódy)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- зазна́ти насоло́ди (zaznáty nasolódy)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Vietnamese thưởng thức, hưởng thụ
- thưởng thứcto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
- hưởng thụto have the use or benefit of something
Welsh mwynhau
- mwynhauto receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Yiddish געניסן
- געניסן (genisn)to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with enjoy
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
enjoy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enjoy
MLA
“enjoy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enjoy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enjoy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enjoy.
Source: enjoy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.