entertain
[en-ter-teyn]
- to hold the attention of pleasantly or agreeably; divert; amuse.
- to have as a guest; provide food, lodging, etc., for; show hospitality to.
- to admit into the mind; consider: He never entertained such ideas.
- 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.
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- to exercise hospitality; entertain company; provide entertainment for guests: They loved to talk, dance, and entertain.
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Origin of entertain
1425–75; late Middle English entertenen to hold mutually < Middle French entretenir ≪ Vulgar Latin *intertenēre, equivalent to Latin inter- inter- + tenēre to hold
Synonyms
See more synonyms for entertain on Thesaurus.com1. beguile, regale.
Synonym study
1. See amuse.
Antonyms
1. bore. 3. reject.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for entertained
Contemporary Examples
We want [fans] to walk away changed or better or at least entertained by it.
For us, WoodRocket is paving the way for creating a place you can come to—and come at—and stay and be entertained.
Inside the Greatest Porn Parody Factory: From ‘Game of Bones’ to ‘The Humper Games’Gabriella Paiella
November 28, 2014
She kept servants and, evidently, three slaves, and entertained academics and philosophers in an elite salon.
The issues seem “stale” only because the commentators demand to be entertained.
He spent most of his vacation as the guest of our printers in Philadelphia, and they entertained him handsomely.
Historical Examples
It was fortunate that, in this case, no fears could be entertained.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
How came she to talk with him, to allow herself to be entertained by him?
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
Mrs Verloc entertained no vain delusions on the subject of the dead.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
It was on his account that we were tolerated, nay, even advised and helped and entertained.
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
Still, it was strange how great a respect for his feelings they entertained.
With Trapper Jim in the North WoodsLawrence J. Leslie
entertain
- to provide amusement for (a person or audience)
- to show hospitality to (guests)
- (tr) to hold in the mindto entertain an idea
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Word Origin
C15: from Old French entretenir, from entre- mutually + tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for entertained
entertain
v.
late 15c., "to keep up, maintain, to keep (someone) in a certain frame of mind," from Middle French entretenir (12c.), from Old French entretenir "hold together, stick together, support," from entre- "among" (from Latin inter; see inter-) + tenir "to hold" (from Latin tenere; see tenet).
Sense of "have a guest" is late 15c.; that of "amuse" is 1620s. Meaning "to allow (something) to consideration" (of opinions, notions, etc.) is 1610s. Related: Entertained; entertaining.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper