amuse
Americanverb (used with object)
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amuses,
present (3rd person singular)
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amused,
past participle, past
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amusing
present participle
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to hold the attention of (someone) pleasantly; entertain or divert in an enjoyable or cheerful manner.
She amused the guests with witty conversation.
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to cause mirth, laughter, or the like, in.
The comedian amused the audience with a steady stream of jokes.
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to cause (time, leisure, etc.) to pass agreeably.
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Archaic. to keep in expectation by flattery, pretenses, etc.
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Obsolete.
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to engross; absorb.
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to puzzle; distract.
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verb
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to keep pleasantly occupied; entertain; divert
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to cause to laugh or smile
Commonly Confused
See bemuse.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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amusesimple
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amusessimple
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have amusedperfect
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has amusedperfect
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am amusingprogressive
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are amusingprogressive
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is amusingprogressive
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have been amusingperfect progressive
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has been amusingperfect progressive
Past
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amusedsimple
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had amusedperfect
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was amusingprogressive
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were amusingprogressive
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had been amusingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of amuse
First recorded in 1470–80; from Middle French amuser “to divert”; equivalent to a- 5 + muse
Explanation
If you enjoy making people laugh, you like to amuse them, which is a good trait to have as long as you don't amuse people during a math test or other solemn occasion. The verb amuse also means to keep busy in a pleasant way. You might amuse yourself during a long driving trip by playing the alphabet game, where you try to find all the letters from A to Z on roadside signs. If you are a passenger on a plane, you could amuse yourself with a movie on your computer. Just don't get them mixed up and try to watch a movie when you are driving.
Vocabulary lists containing amuse
Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Commonly Confused Words, List 9
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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.
See Examples For:
“If Ford wants to amuse himself, all right,” rival auto maker Joseph J. Cole said on the Five-Dollar Day.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
"Politics was all around me," ap Iorwerth told the BBC's Political Thinking podcast, recalling how, as a toddler, he would amuse himself by piling up Plaid Cymru leaflets.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
The temptation to amuse the audience led him to betray his duty to appraise the work of aspiring artists who tremblingly dared present themselves before His Nasty Majesty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
A steal at $28 for three courses, diners saddle up to the counter, reminiscent of a chef’s table, for a French and Japanese-inspired amuse bouche with a main dessert, followed by petit fours.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2025
I made a ‘pome’ yesterday, when I was helping Hannah wash, and as Father likes my silly little things, I put it in to amuse him.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
My husband’s explosive commentary sometimes amuses me and sometimes wears me down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2025
Pizza always amuses me with its contentiousness among certain types of home cooks — the flour, the oven, the hydration, so many absolute rights and wrongs.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
It amuses me that what they’re doing is a definition of insanity: You try something, it doesn’t work.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2022
Remarkably, her pugnacious attitude amuses the princess, who grows to rely on the young “bush girl” for her refreshing candor.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2022
I will not let him know that he amuses me.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
"We can't even fill the coffee cups to the brim or they spill," his son Linus, 19, added with an air of amused exasperation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
But if the movie were a person, he’d be vaguely amused.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
As it all went down, Wembanyama looks somewhat amused; Robinson does not.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
The few protesters taunted the agents, who mostly amused themselves.
From Slate ● May 29, 2026
Laurie’s bashfulness soon wore off, for Jo’s gentlemanly demeanor amused and set him at his ease, and Jo was her merry self again, because her dress was forgotten and nobody lifted their eyebrows at her.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
It’s a tender, naked and amusing personal essay, grounded in the now while looking both backward and forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Marcona almonds are lovely if you want an amusing high-low dialogue with the potato chips that appear later, though any salted roasted almond will do.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
If someone’s doing a pretty good impression of you, I think that’s kind of amusing, but he didn’t know who I was.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
That doesn't mean that comedy should suffer, with Seale saying that every time a scene could deliver a "killer gag", instead it was just "gently amusing".
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Your ’usband ’as been telling us such amusing stories!”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
