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definitions

engaging

[en-gey-jing]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR engaging ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

winning; attractive; pleasing: an engaging smile.

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RELATED WORDS

alluring, lovable, intriguing, likable, fascinating, interesting, inviting, pleasant, appealing, attractive, sweet, pleasing, captivating, enticing, prepossessing, fetching, bewitching, winning, entrancing, enchanting

Nearby words

  1. engaged,
  2. engaged tone,
  3. engagement,
  4. engagement calendar,
  5. engagement ring,
  6. engagé,
  7. engagée,
  8. engarland,
  9. engawa,
  10. engel

Origin of engaging

First recorded in 1665–75; engage + -ing2
Related forms

engage

[en-geyj]

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
ANTONYMS FOR engage
2. discharge. 8. release.
SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR engage ON THESAURUS.COM
Related formsen·gag·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for engaging

British Dictionary definitions for engaging

engaging

adjective

pleasing, charming, or winning
Derived Formsengagingly, adverbengagingness, noun

engage

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 Formsengager, noun

Word Origin for engage

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

engagé

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
Word Origin and History for engaging
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper