AMUSING • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Amusing

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/əmjˈuzɪŋ/ Listen

verb

Amuse v. t. (past & past part. amused; pres. part. amusing)

To occupy or engage the attention of; to lose in deep thought; to absorb; also, to distract; to bewilder. (Obs.) "Camillus set upon the Gauls when they were amused in receiving their gold." "Being amused with grief, fear, and fright, he could not find the house."

To entertain or occupy in a pleasant manner; to stir with pleasing or mirthful emotions; to divert. "A group of children amusing themselves with pushing stones from the top (of the cliff), and watching as they plunged into the lake."

To keep in expectation; to beguile; to delude. "He amused his followers with idle promises."

Synonyms: To entertain; gratify; please; divert; beguile; deceive; occupy. To Amuse, Divert, Entertain. We are amused by that which occupies us lightly and pleasantly. We are entertained by that which brings our minds into agreeable contact with others, as conversation, or a book. We are diverted by that which turns off our thoughts to something of livelier interest, especially of a sportive nature, as a humorous story, or a laughable incident. "Whatever amuses serves to kill time, to lull the faculties, and to banish reflection. Whatever entertains usually awakens the understanding or gratifies the fancy. Whatever diverts is lively in its nature, and sometimes tumultuous in its effects."

Amuse v. i. To muse; to mediate. (Obs.)

adjective

Amusing adj. Giving amusement; diverting; as, an amusing story.

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Etymology of 'Amusing'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Amusing" Quotes from Famous Books

... noticed by travellers; as, for instance, Kohl, Custine, &c. &c. Our readers will find the singular colour of the St Petersburg atmosphere (particularly observable in the winter, or at night) very well described in Sir George Lefevre's amusing "Notes of a Travelling Physician." This greenish tint is as peculiar to the banks of the Neva, as is the reddish-black to the neighbourhood of Birmingham or the Potteries; or the yellowish-brown (in November—"let rude ears be absent!") to the ...

— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845 • Various

... town possesses, I presented myself with early dawn at the house of the Mudir. Although not yet 8 o'clock, I found him with the whole Medjlis in conclave around him. Thence the entire party accompanied me to inspect the fort, or such part of it as had escaped the ravages of time. It was rather amusing to see the abortive attempts at climbing of some of these fur-coated, smoke-dried old Mussulmans, who certainly did not all equal the Mudir in activity. The fort is a quadrilateral with bastions, and gates in each of the curtains; in two of ...

— Herzegovina - Or, Omer Pacha and the Christian Rebels • George Arbuthnot

... Yes: it is indeed. Frank will take you for a walk, Mr Praed, if you like. I'll ask you to excuse me: I must take the opportunity to write my sermon while Mrs Gardner is away and you are all amusing yourselves. You won't mind, ...

— Mrs. Warren's Profession • George Bernard Shaw

... reading and silently stared at him with frightened eyes; the second assumed precisely the same expression; while the youngest, the one with the mole, who was of a cheerful and lively disposition, bent over her frame to hide a smile probably evoked by the amusing scene she foresaw. She drew her wool down through the canvas and, scarcely able to refrain from laughing, stooped as if trying to make ...

— War and Peace • Leo Tolstoy

... as the quarrel was Bertha's account of the occasion when she fell into the creek, and many funny recitations by Mr. Warner also made amusing records. ...

— Patty's Summer Days • Carolyn Wells

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