- present participle of entertain.
entertaining
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of entertaining
Explanation
Things that are entertaining are enjoyable and distracting. Going to the circus is an entertaining way to spend an afternoon. Activities like playing games and watching movies can be entertaining, and you can also describe a friend who's particularly funny or fun to be with as entertaining. The adjective comes from the related verb, entertain, which meant "keep up, maintain, or keep someone in a certain frame of mind" in the fifteenth century. It comes from the Old French entretenir, "hold together."
Vocabulary lists containing entertaining
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.
Noah Reid and Carrie-Anne Moss star in an ambiguous but entertaining eight-part series that draws on the Slavic myth of Baba Yaga.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
If you enjoyed it and would like more essays, entertaining guides and recipes sent straight to your inbox, subscribe here.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
Located about 30 minutes outside of Nashville, the retreat offers a fishing lake, one-bedroom cottage, and large barn for storage or entertaining.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
Fabian Hurzeler's free-scoring side have arguably been the most entertaining top-flight team to watch this season, but they have backed up their attacking flair with a robust defence.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
It’s usually pretty entertaining, but not when you’re carrying an eighty-pound load.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
