amuse
[uh-myooz]
- to hold the attention of (someone) pleasantly; entertain or divert in an enjoyable or cheerful manner: She amused the guests with witty conversation.
- to cause mirth, laughter, or the like, in: The comedian amused the audience with a steady stream of jokes.
- to cause (time, leisure, etc.) to pass agreeably.
- Archaic. to keep in expectation by flattery, pretenses, etc.
- Obsolete.
- to engross; absorb.
- to puzzle; distract.
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Origin of amuse
Synonyms
See more synonyms for amuse on Thesaurus.com1. please, charm, cheer.
Synonym study
Amuse, divert, entertain mean to occupy the attention with something pleasant. That which amuses is usually playful or humorous and pleases the fancy. Divert implies turning the attention from serious thoughts or pursuits to something light, amusing, or lively. That which entertains usually does so because of a plan or program that engages and holds the attention by being pleasing and sometimes instructive.
Usage note
See bemuse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for amuse
Contemporary Examples
The purpose of art,” Bemelmans once said, “is to console and amuse—myself, and, I hope, others.
A purse can impress and intimidate, bewilder, berate, or amuse.
The Embassy produced a short video in advance of the trip, which, in the spirit of our times, is meant to both inform and amuse.
His masters would then amuse themselves by pelting him with bones.
Pandering—thy name is Newt In Florida, will it bear fruit So obvious it does amuse: "Mitt cut Kosher meals for Jews!"
Historical Examples
Novels are taken up to amuse the vacant hour—in this consists their use.
This Mr. Fleurant and Mr. Purgon amuse themselves finely with your body.
The Imaginary InvalidMolire
This was not a great sorrow for Rico,—he knew how to amuse himself.
Rico and WiseliJohanna Spyri
We amuse him more than the hackneyed comrades he has worn out.
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
I must now amuse and put her off—at all events for the present.
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
amuse
- to keep pleasantly occupied; entertain; divert
- to cause to laugh or smile
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Word Origin
C15: from Old French amuser to cause to be idle, from muser to muse 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for amuse
v.
late 15c., "to divert the attention, beguile, delude," from Middle French amuser "divert, cause to muse," from a "at, to" (but here probably a causal prefix) + muser "ponder, stare fixedly" (see muse (v.)). Sense of "divert from serious business, tickle the fancy of" is recorded from 1630s, but through 18c. the primary meaning was "deceive, cheat" by first occupying the attention. Bemuse retains more of the original meaning. Related: Amused; amusing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper