entertain
verb (used with object)
to hold the attention of pleasantly or agreeably; divert; amuse.
entertained
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past participleof entertain.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof entertain.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
entertainverb (used with object)to hold the attention of pleasantly or agreeably; divert; amuse.
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.
They lived in a grand Right Bank mansion, entertained at lavish parties and brilliant salons, and mingled with royalty and literary luminaries at society weddings, the opera and the racetrack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
The story goes that Disney would bring his daughters to the merry-go-round, sit on a bench and dream of a place where adults and children could be entertained together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The updated policy does not explicitly cite so-called "model welfare," the idea that AI systems might deserve types of protection usually reserved for living things, but Anthropic and its executives have openly entertained the concept.
From Barron's ● Oct. 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
A kindly, educated old man with a big white Panama hat who worried mostly about his digestion, my grandfather entertained no political ambitions.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
