entertain
Americanverb (used with object)
-
entertains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
entertained,
past participle, past
-
entertaining
present participle
-
to hold the attention of pleasantly or agreeably; divert; amuse.
- Antonyms:
- bore
-
to have as a guest; provide food, lodging, etc., for; show hospitality to.
-
to admit into the mind; consider.
He never entertained such ideas.
- Antonyms:
- reject
-
to hold in the mind; harbor; cherish.
They secretly entertained thoughts of revenge.
-
Archaic. to maintain or keep up.
-
Obsolete. to give admittance or reception to; receive.
verb (used without object)
-
entertains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
entertained,
past participle, past
-
entertaining
present participle
verb
-
to provide amusement for (a person or audience)
-
to show hospitality to (guests)
-
(tr) to hold in the mind
to entertain an idea
Synonym Usage
See amuse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
preentertainverb (used with object)
-
overentertainedadjective
-
unentertainedadjective
-
well-entertainedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
entertainsimple
-
entertainssimple
-
have entertainedperfect
-
has entertainedperfect
-
am entertainingprogressive
-
are entertainingprogressive
-
is entertainingprogressive
-
have been entertainingperfect progressive
-
has been entertainingperfect progressive
Past
-
entertainedsimple
-
had entertainedperfect
-
was entertainingprogressive
-
were entertainingprogressive
-
had been entertainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entertain
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English entertenen “to hold mutually,” from Middle French entretenir, ultimately from Vulgar Latin intertenēre (unrecorded), from Latin inter- inter- + tenēre “to hold”
Explanation
If you want to entertain, you've got to hold people's attention, usually with something amusing. Clowns, music, silly jokes, and a good game of charades can all be used to entertain. Did you know you can actually entertain ideas? It's not quite the same as entertaining friends with a good home cooked meal or tickets to the ball game, but still an appropriate way to use the word. To entertain an idea means to have it in mind or under consideration. For example, you never thought of studying abroad, but after a professor said it was one of the most meaningful experiences of his life, you started to entertain the idea of living in a foreign country.
Vocabulary lists containing entertain
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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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.
See Examples For:
He was a hammer meeting a nail, traveling to the run down parts of towns all over America to shore things up — to entertain rather than win over audiences.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Upon entering the property, guests are greeted with an expansive living area, complete with plenty of room to entertain and soaring ceilings.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Parents had arrived equipped with sandwiches, books, playing cards and colouring paper to entertain their children during the wait for the pope on his way to a makeshift alter down the road.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
The article argues that optimistic science fiction can do more than entertain: it can give audiences a constructive vision of the future and inspire people to pursue careers in science, engineering and space exploration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Nineteenth-century newspapers intentionally printed fake news stories to entertain readers and increase sales.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
Britain's The Guardian newspaper said the movie "entertains us with creepy campfire tales" but the Hollywood Reporter called it a "dull existential drama" while The Wrap website described it as a "frustrating slog".
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
The formula still entertains, sure, but its bite has been blunted by the weight of copycats that came after the first installment.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
Host and journalist Anders Kvaal entertains both sides of the fracas with his ears open and his mouth largely shut.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
The real scandal here is why she entertains any of these losers at all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
He entertains pipe dreams: the Frenchman will invite him in.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
There, he entertained the great and the good with legendary parties, serving with champagne and shepherd's pies.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Inside government and out, people were forced to think thoughts they’d never entertained before: Are my kids safe?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
“The sheer volume of information captured is not something that is entertained, in my view, by the Fourth Amendment,” said Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
As if those amenities weren’t enough to keep the Hollywood star entertained, the property also features its own ski slope, as well as a tennis court.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
Game nights in the concession stand hit occasional lulls, so Theo and I entertained ourselves making plastic cup pyramids and talking about English class.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
This trip down memory lane is entertaining, but does it really matter if 2006 and 2026 wind up being similar?
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Witchy AF,” executive produced by Lilly Wachowski, is undeniably entertaining.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
“And so you just come here with a passion and a goal to be informative and entertaining and be a part of Showtime.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Large numbers will go on to die awful deaths from Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative brain diseases as a result of their work entertaining us on TV.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Once a year we spent two span at his manor, entertaining him and his household.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
