please

The word “please” means to make someone happy or satisfied. In plain terms, either the verb meaning to make someone happy, or the everyday word we add to requests to be polite.

“Please” is pronounced pleez (/pliz/ in IPA).

Here is “please” used in a sentence: “It's hard to please everyone at once.”

Depending on how it is used, “please” can be a verb, an adverb and an intj.

The word “please” comes from Latin. From Old French plaisir/plaire, from Latin placere ("to please, to seem good"). It displaced the older Old English word līcian, which survives today as "like.".

“Please” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Please” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to make someone happy or satisfied.

As a verb, 'please' means to make someone happy or satisfied, as in 'she aims to please.' As a courtesy word, 'please' softens a request ('Please sit down'). Same spelling, different jobs: the verb describes giving satisfaction, while the polite form simply makes an ask more courteous.

Someone 'eager to please' is keen to make others happy and win their approval, often going out of their way to be helpful or agreeable. It can be a warm compliment, though it sometimes hints that a person tries too hard to satisfy everyone at their own expense.

In this sense the opposites are 'displease,' 'annoy,' 'upset,' and 'disappoint' — all meaning to make someone unhappy or dissatisfied. Where 'please' brings satisfaction and pleasure, these words describe the frustration or letdown felt when a person's wishes or expectations are not met.

'He works hard to please his customers,' 'It pleased her greatly to hear the news,' and 'You can't please everyone' all use the verb. It describes the act of giving someone pleasure, satisfaction, or contentment, whether through effort, words, or a happy outcome.