engaging

[ en-gey-jing ]

/ ɛnˈgeɪ dʒɪŋ /

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adjective

winning; attractive; pleasing: an engaging smile.

Nearby words

engaged, engaged tone, engagement, engagement calendar, engagement ring, engaging, engagé, engagée, engarland, engawa, engel

Origin of engaging

First recorded in 1665–75; engage + -ing²

SYNONYMS FOR engaging

charming, agreeable.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR engaging ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

en·gag·ing·ly, adverben·gag·ing·ness, nounqua·si-en·gag·ing, adjectivequa·si-en·gag·ing·ly, adverb

un·en·gag·ing, adjective

Definition for engaging (2 of 2)

engage

[ en-geyj ]

/ ɛnˈgeɪdʒ /

verb (used with object), en·gaged, en·gag·ing.

to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons): He engaged her in conversation.

to secure for aid, employment, use, etc.; hire: to engage a worker; to engage a room.

to attract and hold fast: The novel engaged her attention and interest.

to attract or please: His good nature engages everyone.

to bind, as by pledge, promise, contract, or oath; make liable: He engaged himself to repay his debt within a month.

to betroth (usually used in the passive): They were engaged last week.

to bring (troops) into conflict; enter into conflict with: Our army engaged the enemy.

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

to attach or secure.

Obsolete. to entangle or involve.

verb (used without object), en·gaged, en·gag·ing.

to occupy oneself; become involved: to engage in business or politics.

to take employment: She engaged in her mother's business.

to pledge one's word; assume an obligation: I was unwilling to engage on such terms.

to cross weapons; enter into conflict: The armies engaged early in the morning.

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

Origin of engage

1515–25; < Middle French engager, Old French engagier. See en-¹, gage¹

SYNONYMS FOR engage

1 absorb, engross, interest, involve.

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ANTONYMS FOR engage

2 discharge.

8 release.

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Related forms

en·gag·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for engaging

Yet despite his engaging irascibility, Mamoon never quite emerges as a character in his own right.
A Novel About a Novelist ‘Like’ Naipaul|Edward Platt|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What should the protocol be for engaging people on the street who offer unsolicited “compliments?”
Street Harassment Shouldn’t Be a Crime|Lizzie Crocker|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chatty, engaging and knowledgeable, cabbies in Hong Kong are also avid listeners of discussion programs on local radio.
Hong Kong Between Calm and Chaos|Ben Leung|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I like a good story, and so I want to make sure that this character is engaging.
Into the Grindr of the Gay Dating Game: Sex, Death, and Aging in ‘Stealing Sam’|Tim Teeman|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

She was, unusually for a comedian, as funny and engaging off stage as on.
Joan Rivers: Our Last Interview|Tim Teeman|September 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Vera had been awful about it; he had had to do all the ordering of the meals himself at last, and also the engaging of the cooks.
Vera|Elisabeth von Arnim
His kindness to social and literary beginners is one of his most engaging traits.
Collections and Recollections|George William Erskine Russell
An admirable story–an engaging story of love, mystery and adventure.
The Triumph of Virginia Dale|John Francis, Jr.
Dickens in his “Nicholas Nickleby” relates an engaging legend to explain how the design and the name were provided for them.
Stained Glass Tours in England|Charles Hitchcock Sherrill
I can think of no other expedient to prevent his engaging in some rash and improper attempt; therefore I beseech you to go down.'
Emmeline|Charlotte Turner Smith

British Dictionary definitions for engaging (1 of 3)

engaging

/ (ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ) /

adjective

pleasing, charming, or winning

Derived Forms

engagingly, adverbengagingness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for engaging (2 of 3)

engage

/ (ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ) /

verb (mainly tr)

to secure the services of; employ

to secure for use; reserveengage a room

to involve (a person or his attention) intensely; engross; occupy

to attract (the affection) of (a person)her innocence engaged him

to draw (somebody) into conversation

(intr) to take part; participatehe engages in many sports

to promise (to do something)

(also intr) military to begin an action with (an enemy)

to bring (a mechanism) into operationhe engaged the clutch

(also intr) to undergo or cause to undergo interlocking, as of the components of a driving mechanism, such as a gear train

machinery to locate (a locking device) in its operative position or to advance (a tool) into a workpiece to commence cutting

Derived Forms

engager, noun

Word Origin for engage

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

British Dictionary definitions for engaging (3 of 3)

engagé

/ French (ɑ̃ɡaʒe) /

adjective

(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

engaging

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of engaging

SYNONYMS FOR engaging

Related forms

Definition for engaging (2 of 2)

engage

verb (used with object), en·gaged, en·gag·ing.

verb (used without object), en·gaged, en·gag·ing.

Origin of engage

SYNONYMS FOR engage

ANTONYMS FOR engage

Related forms

Examples from the Web for engaging

British Dictionary definitions for engaging (1 of 3)

engaging

adjective

Derived Forms

British Dictionary definitions for engaging (2 of 3)

engage

verb (mainly tr)

Derived Forms

Word Origin for engage

British Dictionary definitions for engaging (3 of 3)

engagé

adjective