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Showing results for entertaining. Search instead for enjoy entertaining.
Synonyms

entertaining

American  
[en-ter-tey-ning] / ˌɛn tərˈteɪ nɪŋ /

adjective

  1. affording entertainment; amusing; diverting.

    We spent an entertaining evening at the theater.
entertaining British  
/ ˌɛntəˈteɪnɪŋ /

adjective

  1. serving to entertain or give pleasure; diverting; amusing

"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

Other Word Forms

  • entertainingly adverb
  • nonentertaining adjective
  • quasi-entertaining adjective
  • self-entertaining adjective
  • unentertaining adjective
  • unentertainingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of entertaining

First recorded in 1615–25; entertain + -ing 2

Explanation

Things that are entertaining are enjoyable and distracting. Going to the circus is an entertaining way to spend an afternoon. Activities like playing games and watching movies can be entertaining, and you can also describe a friend who's particularly funny or fun to be with as entertaining. The adjective comes from the related verb, entertain, which meant "keep up, maintain, or keep someone in a certain frame of mind" in the fifteenth century. It comes from the Old French entretenir, "hold together."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing entertaining

12 More Interesting Ways to Say "interesting"

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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.

Add to that a very entertaining monologue and Colman proved to be an ideal host.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

With Frazer Clarke and Jeamie 'TKV' Tshikeva both picking up losses on the Fury undercard in entertaining fights, there are plenty of options for British heavyweights.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

The other three bedrooms are all located in an additional wing that also houses many of the home’s “generous entertaining ideas.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

Horrible people acting horribly is always entertaining, to a point—the point being when the viewer recognizes he has become a voyeur.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

For the past month she was focused on entertaining me.

From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan

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.