engaged

[ en-geyjd ]
See synonyms for engaged on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. busy or occupied; involved: deeply engaged in conversation.

  2. pledged to be married; betrothed: an engaged couple.

  1. under engagement; pledged: an engaged contractor.

  2. entered into conflict with: desperately engaged armies.

  3. Mechanics.

  4. Architecture. (of a distinct member) built so as to be truly or seemingly attached in part to the structure before which it stands: an engaged column.

Origin of engaged

1
First recorded in 1605–15; engage + -ed2

Other words from engaged

  • en·gag·ed·ly [en-gey-jid-lee, -geyjd-], /ɛnˈgeɪ dʒɪd li, -ˈgeɪdʒd-/, adverb
  • en·gag·ed·ness, noun
  • un·en·gaged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use engaged in a sentence

  • When he came home for good, unmarried and unengaged, she knew that she should succeed; and Edgar knew it too.

  • The dresses of the unengaged advocates in scarlet and ermine, and of the proctors in ermine and black, were picturesque.

    Old and New London | Walter Thornbury
  • The common human interest of the unengaged, and the reminiscent interest of the married, tend to focus all eyes upon them.

    The Etiquette of To-day | Edith B. Ordway
  • He had lived in Ephesus with an unengaged heart in all the crowd of opportunities for love, good and bad.

    The City of Delight | Elizabeth Miller
  • It is his duty to call on the only young lady unengaged, who was Miss Rennsdale, aged eight.

    Confessions of a Book-Lover | Maurice Francis Egan

British Dictionary definitions for engaged

engaged

/ (ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd) /


adjective
  1. pledged to be married; betrothed

  2. employed, occupied, or busy

  1. architect built against or attached to a wall or similar structure: an engaged column

  2. (of a telephone line) already in use

Derived forms of engaged

  • engagedly (ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪdlɪ), adverb

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