interested
Americanadjective
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having an interest in something; concerned.
Interested members will meet at noon.
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having the attention or curiosity engaged.
an interested spectator.
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characterized by a feeling of interest.
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influenced by personal or selfish motives.
an interested witness.
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participating; having an interest or share; having money involved.
adjective
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showing or having interest
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(usually prenominal) personally involved or implicated
the interested parties met to discuss the business
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of interested
First recorded in 1655–65; interest ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) or -ed 3 ( def. )
Explanation
If you're interested in something, you like it and want to know more. If you're snoring through a movie, you're probably not that interested in it. If you're interested in something, it has your attention. Some people are interested in sports; others are interested in books. If you like something and want to learn more about it, or just enjoy thinking about it, then you're interested. People can also be interested in things they have a stake in: we would say both the workers and employers are "interested parties" in a labor dispute, for example.
Vocabulary lists containing interested
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Hooked on a Feeling, List 1
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Unit 20, Lessons 3–4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This can only happen, the Fringe leaders said, if Angelenos donate generously to arts funding — and reap the benefits by supporting subjects they’re interested in.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the brokerage in years past had to plead with issuers to set aside stock for the company’s IPO Access program, which distributes allocated retail shares at random to interested customers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
At the time, Pulte told the newspaper he wasn’t interested in politics.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
The military is clearly interested, says Dean Fankhauser at Robozaps, a humanoid robotics advisory firm that runs a marketplace for commercial systems.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
“Marie is interested in helping lepers all over the world,” Father Torralba explains.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.