PLEASANTNESS

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does pleasantness mean? 

• PLEASANTNESS (noun)
  The noun PLEASANTNESS has 2 senses:

1. the feeling caused by agreeable stimuli; one pole of a continuum of states of feeling

2. the quality of giving pleasure

  Familiarity information: PLEASANTNESS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLEASANTNESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The feeling caused by agreeable stimuli; one pole of a continuum of states of feeling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("pleasantness" is a kind of...):

pleasance; pleasure (a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pleasantness"):

afterglow (the pleasure of remembering some pleasant event)

Antonym:

unpleasantness (the feeling caused by disagreeable stimuli; one pole of a continuum of states of feeling)

Derivation:

pleasant ((of persons) having pleasing manners or behavior)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The quality of giving pleasure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

pleasantness; sweetness

Context example:

the pleasantness of a cool breeze on a hot summer day

Hypernyms ("pleasantness" is a kind of...):

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

Attribute:

pleasant (affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings)

unpleasant (offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pleasantness"):

pleasingness (the quality of giving pleasure to the senses)

agreeableness; amenity (pleasantness resulting from agreeable conditions)

enjoyableness (pleasantness resulting from something that can be enjoyed)

niceness (the quality of nice)

Antonym:

unpleasantness (the quality of giving displeasure)

Derivation:

pleasant (affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings)

 Context examples 

He nodded his head with a savage pleasantness.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He sees difficulties nowhere: and his pleasantness and gaiety will be a constant support to you.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

"I am afraid," replied Elinor, "that the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety."

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

After walking two or three times along that part of the lane, she was tempted, by the pleasantness of the morning, to stop at the gates and look into the park.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The less worthy females were to come in the evening, with Miss Bates, Miss Fairfax, and Miss Smith; but already, at dinner, they were too numerous for any subject of conversation to be general; and, while politics and Mr. Elton were talked over, Emma could fairly surrender all her attention to the pleasantness of her neighbour.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

On their being joined by Mr. Bingley himself, Elizabeth withdrew to Miss Lucas; to whose inquiry after the pleasantness of her last partner she had scarcely replied, before Mr. Collins came up to them, and told her with great exultation that he had just been so fortunate as to make a most important discovery.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The pleasantness of the morning had induced him to walk forward, and leave his horses to meet him by another road, a mile or two beyond Highbury—and happening to have borrowed a pair of scissors the night before of Miss Bates, and to have forgotten to restore them, he had been obliged to stop at her door, and go in for a few minutes: he was therefore later than he had intended; and being on foot, was unseen by the whole party till almost close to them.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Within doors there was Lady Catherine, books, and a billiard-table, but gentlemen cannot always be within doors; and in the nearness of the Parsonage, or the pleasantness of the walk to it, or of the people who lived in it, the two cousins found a temptation from this period of walking thither almost every day.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)