What does "please" mean?
Please: To have or take pleasure in; hence, to choose; to wish; to desire; to will. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he. Ps. cxxxv.
Additional senses
- 2.A man doing as he wills, and doing as he pleases, are the same things in common speech. J. Edwards.
- 3.To be the will or pleasure of; to seem good to; -- used impersonally. "It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell." Col. i.
- 4.To-morrow, may it please you. Shak. To be pleased in or with, to have complacency in; to take pleasure in. -- To be pleased to do a thing, to take pleasure in doing it; to have the will to do it; to think proper to do it. Dryden.
- 5.To afford or impart pleasure; to excite agreeable emotions. What pleasing scemed, for her now pleases more. Milton. For we that live to please, must please to live. Johnson.
- 6.To have pleasure; to be willing, as a matter of affording pleasure or showing favor; to vouchsafe; to consent. Heavenly stranger, please to taste These bounties. Milton. That he would please 8give me my liberty. Swift.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/answers/what-does-please-mean
- Steward: Jason Burns
- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00