Amuse
Contents
English
Verb
Amuse (third-person singular simple present amuses, present participle amusing, simple past and past participle amused)
- (transitive) To entertain or occupy in a pleasant manner; to stir with pleasing or mirthful emotions; to divert.
- To cause laughter, to be funny.
- (transitive, archaic) To keep in expectation; to beguile; to delude.
- (obsolete, slang, cant) To fling dust or snuff in the eyes of the person intended to be robbed; also to invent some plausible tale, to delude shop-keepers and others, thereby to put them off their guard. (1811 Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue)
Adverbs for Amuse
unconsciously; constantly; superficially; inwardly; genuinely; mightily; whole-heartediy; powerfully; secretly; libidinously; vociferously; considerably; indescribably; falteringly; undisguisedly; obviously; grimly; jovially; highly; impersonally; unspeakably; obscurely; good-humoredly; tolerantly: contemptuously; harmlessly; idly; endlessly; intimately; deliriously; detachedly; cynically; maliciously; puerilely; discreetly; ironically; benevolently; magnificently; haughtily; vaguely; wistfully; unconcealedly; emptily; sophisticatedly; insipidly; sheepishly; meretriciously; irritatingly; wholesomely; childishly; intriguingly; fashionably; sparklingly; barbarously.
Synonyms for Amuse
entertain, gratify, please, divert, beguile, engross, cheer, gladden, titillate, interest.
Antonyms for Amuse
Thesaurus
absorb; animate; beguile; charm; cheer; convulse; delight; distract; divert; enchant; engross; enliven; entertain; exhilarate; fascinate; fleet; fracture one; interest; kill; knock dead; loosen up; occupy; please; quicken; raise a laugh; raise a smile; recreate; refresh; regale; relax; slay; solace; tickle; titillate; while; wile; wow
Etymology
From Middle English amusen (“to mutter, be astonished, gaze meditatively on”) from Middle French amuser (“to amuse, divert, babble”) from Old French amuser (“to stupefy, waste time, be lost in thought”) from a- + muser (“to stare stupidly at, gape, wander, waste time, loiter, think carefully about, attend to”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Cognate with Occitan musa (“idle waiting”), Italian musare (“to gape idly about”). Possibly from Old French *mus (“snout”) from Proto-Romance *mūsa (“snout”) (—compare Medieval Latin mūsum (“muzzle, snout”)), of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic base *mū- (“muzzle, snout”) from Proto-Indo-European *mū- (“lips, muzzle”). Compare German Maul (“muzzle, snout”).
Alternative etymology connects Old French muser and Occitan musa with Old High German muoza (“careful attention, leisure, idleness”) from Proto-Germanic *mōtōn (“leave, permission”) from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to acquire, possess, control”). Compare also Old High German muozōn (“to be idle, have leisure or opportunity”), German Muße (“leisure”). More at empty.
Pronunciation
Derived terms
Translations
Anagrams
French
Pronunciation
Verb
Amuse
- English verbs
- English archaic terms
- Classic 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English slang
- English cant
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Romance languages
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Germanic languages
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Old High German
- French verb forms
