a·muse ( -my z )tr.v. a·mused, a·mus·ing, a·mus·es 1. To occupy in an agreeable, pleasing, or entertaining fashion. 2. To cause to laugh or smile by giving pleasure: I was not amused by his jokes. 3. Archaic To delude or deceive. [Middle English, from Old French amuser, to stupefy : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + muser, to stare stupidly; see muse.] a·mus a·ble adj.a·mus er n.Synonyms: amuse, entertain, divert, regale These verbs refer to actions that provide pleasure, especially as a means of passing time. Amuse, the least specific, implies directing attention away from serious matters: I amused myself with a game of solitaire. Entertain suggests acts undertaken to furnish amusement: "They [timetables and catalogs] are much more entertaining than half the novels that are written" (W. Somerset Maugham). Divert implies distraction from worrisome thought or care: "I had neither Friends or Books to divert me" (Richard Steele). To regale is to entertain with something enormously enjoyable: "He loved to regale his friends with tales about the many memorable characters he had known as a newspaperman" (David Rosenzweig). |
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