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Synonyms

absorbing

American  
[ab-sawr-bing, -zawr-] / æbˈsɔr bɪŋ, -ˈzɔr- /

adjective

  1. extremely interesting; deeply engrossing.

    an absorbing drama.
absorbing British  
/ -ˈzɔːb-, əbˈsɔːbɪŋ /

adjective

  1. occupying one's interest or attention; engrossing; gripping

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of absorbing

First recorded in 1745–55; absorb + -ing 2

Vocabulary lists containing absorbing

12 More Interesting Ways to Say "interesting"

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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.

Absorbing Hang Seng would simplify HSBC’s business there, said Citigroup analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

Absorbing them was nearly impossible — and launching off them into the howling wind felt crazy.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2024

Absorbing even some of the liabilities would be accompanied by "material costs, which would undermine China's fiscal strength and potentially its creditworthiness", it said.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2023

Absorbing the adulation—and gradually coming to believe his own mythology—Giuliani plotted a course to the White House and was considered a more than plausible candidate.

From Slate • Aug. 16, 2023

Absorbing these psychosocial realities created all kinds of distortions and difficulties that manifest themselves today in multiple ways.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

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.