0 a polite and often slightly humorous remark, usually made to help other people feel relaxed:
After exchanging pleasantries, the delegation revealed the purpose of their visit.
1 a polite remark, usually made by people when they first meet to show they are friendly:
Why then, might a man of the cloth devote his time and his intellect so consistently to the production of games and pleasantries?
With the workers there were no pleasantries, and yelling was his standard mode of speech.
There were few pleasantries in the years following, however, as each national expedition competed with the other in order to claim the continent.
I look forward to that fraternal occasion, so perhaps we may reserve the further exchange of pleasantries until then.
There were no party scores in it, apart from a few little pleasantries which always enliven his speeches.
Or is he waiting to see how long he can sit on the fence, with pleasantry in place of policy?
This is not the time for those pleasantries.
Let us get the pleasantries out of the way.
