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View synonyms for engage

engage

1

[ en-geyj ]

verb (used with object)

, en·gaged, en·gag·ing.
  1. to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons):

    He engaged her in conversation.

    Synonyms: involve, interest, engross, absorb

  2. to secure for aid, employment, use, etc.; hire:

    to engage a worker;

    to engage a room.

    Antonyms: discharge

  3. to attract and hold fast:

    The novel engaged her attention and interest.

  4. to attract or please:

    His good nature engages everyone.

  5. to bind, as by pledge, promise, contract, or oath; make liable:

    He engaged himself to repay his debt within a month.

  6. to betroth (usually used in the passive):

    They were engaged last week.

  7. to bring (troops) into conflict; enter into conflict with:

    Our army engaged the enemy.

  8. Mechanics. to cause (gears or the like) to become interlocked; interlock with.

    Antonyms: release

  9. to attach or secure.
  10. Obsolete. to entangle or involve.


verb (used without object)

, en·gaged, en·gag·ing.
  1. to occupy oneself; become involved:

    to engage in business or politics.

  2. to take employment:

    She engaged in her mother's business.

  3. to pledge one's word; assume an obligation:

    I was unwilling to engage on such terms.

  4. to cross weapons; enter into conflict:

    The armies engaged early in the morning.

  5. Mechanics. (of gears or the like) to interlock.

engagé

2

[ French ahn-ga-zhey ]

adjective

  1. choosing to involve oneself in or commit oneself to something:

    Some of the political activists grew less engagé as the years passed.

engagé

1

/ ɑ̃ɡaʒe /

adjective

  1. (of a writer or artist, esp a man) morally or politically committed to some ideology
“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


engage

2

/ ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ /

verb

  1. to secure the services of; employ
  2. to secure for use; reserve

    engage a room

  3. to involve (a person or his attention) intensely; engross; occupy
  4. to attract (the affection) of (a person)

    her innocence engaged him

  5. to draw (somebody) into conversation
  6. intr to take part; participate

    he engages in many sports

  7. to promise (to do something)
  8. also intr military to begin an action with (an enemy)
  9. to bring (a mechanism) into operation

    he engaged the clutch

  10. also intr to undergo or cause to undergo interlocking, as of the components of a driving mechanism, such as a gear train
  11. machinery to locate (a locking device) in its operative position or to advance (a tool) into a workpiece to commence cutting
“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
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Derived Forms

  • enˈgager, noun
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Other Words From

  • en·gager noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of engage1

First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French engager, Old French engagier; en- 1( def ), gage 1( def )

Origin of engage2

First recorded in 1950–55; from French: literally, “engaged”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of engage1

C15: from Old French engagier, from en- 1+ gage a pledge, see gage 1
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Example Sentences

Crucially, the team engaged with critics rather than just dismissing them.

Keep your knees bent, your feet flat on the floor, and your core engaged.

People with good paying jobs like supervisors, managers, directors, and vice presidents do not normally engage in theft, drug deals, or gang activity.

From Fortune

Some lawmakers feared that landlords would literally run tenants off of properties at gunpoint or engage other forms of extralegal self-help.

Food isn’t the only thing we share, but eating is a particularly good example of a shared activity because it’s necessary, and because we engage in it throughout our lives—unlike playing with blocks, perhaps.

From Fortune

Then we all have to do our part to engage the officers and our community, and hold everyone accountable in the process.

The Millennial Action Project (MAP) seeks to engage young people in politics and give them more of a voice in governing.

Not that he ever planned to engage in the controversy directly.

Cook walked more slowly than most, stopping to engage with passersby who expressed their own frustration and support.

Such messages are unlikely to be beloved of secularists who prefer to scoff at the religious rather than engage with them.

He continued its sale, however, as a kingly monopoly, allowing only those to engage in it who paid him for the privilege.

We have other things to engage us now, but I sometimes think all is not gain that the march of progress brings.

I only engage that the engine shall be equal to a B. and Watt's 72-inch single, but it will be equal to a double 72-inch cylinder.

A ship will sail for the South Sea fishery in about five weeks, and will engage to take the whole of the engines.

In the instructions that may be given to Uville, it shall be stipulated on what terms he may engage one or two English workmen.

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Engadineengaged