entertaining
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of entertaining
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."
Vocabulary lists containing entertaining
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.
Beyond the hotel, he is already entertaining other ways to spend that fortune, including fantasies of helping the town where he lives switch from wood-burning to cleaner heating options.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
More than that, though, was the sense that Leicester have been entertaining to watch.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
There is also a full wet bar, ideal for entertaining, as well as a second staircase that leads to the upper level directly from the kitchen.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
There’s that word that gets weaponized so often lately to describe things that are bad but somewhat entertaining, which is exactly how I’d describe Gyllenhaal’s output this decade.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
He saw that Emma had soon made it out, and found it highly entertaining, though it was something which she judged it proper to appear to censure; for she said, “Nonsense! for shame!”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
