engrossed
Americanadjective
-
completely occupied or absorbed, as by something that captures the mind or attention; showing or characterized by such absorption.
A carefully planned light show, combined with a five-minute tapestry of spacey sounds by the quartet, brought the engrossed audience into a meditative state.
-
written or copied in a clear, attractive, large script or in a formal manner, as a public document or record.
In the year 1776 Hopkinson voted for the Declaration of Independence, and affixed his signature to the engrossed copy of that memorable instrument.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of engrossed
Explanation
When you’re engrossed in something, you’re so consumed by it that you don’t notice anything else, like when you’re engrossed in a conversation with that cute girl from your math class. Use the adjective engrossed to describe someone who is completely absorbed in something, whether it’s a task, a person, or an object. You might be engrossed in a movie that’s so good you just can’t look away, or you can be engrossed in talking to someone — like the girl from math class. Engrossed is often used with “in” — so you’d say you were “engrossed in” a book or “engrossed in” your homework.
Vocabulary lists containing engrossed
The Great Gatsby
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"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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50 Words from Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice"
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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.
"This is all dog content, when will the cat programme be on?" one person engrossed in the service wrote in the chatroom on PetTV's streaming page.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
What engrossed him and his team was the Alto’s graphical display, which was destined to make the text-only displays of contemporary computers obsolete.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
For much of the summer, though, he was engrossed in something else.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
People with no connection to the Post Office told the BBC how they became engrossed watching.
From BBC • Jul. 6, 2025
He and Jonah are so engrossed in their conversation, he doesn’t even look back to say hello.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
