Library / English Dictionary

AMUSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make (somebody) laugh

Example:

The clown amused the children

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "amuse" is one way to...):

cheer; cheer up; jolly along; jolly up (cause (somebody) to feel happier or more cheerful)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "amuse"):

convulse (make someone convulse with laughter)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot amuse Sue

Derivation:

amusement (a feeling of delight at being entertained)

amusive (providing enjoyment; pleasantly entertaining)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion

Example:

The play amused the ladies

Synonyms:

amuse; disport; divert

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "amuse" is one way to...):

entertain (provide entertainment for)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

Sam cannot amuse Sue

The performance is likely to amuse Sue

Derivation:

amusement (an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention)

amusive (providing enjoyment; pleasantly entertaining)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He seemed very much amused, and laughed as heartily as it was in his nature to laugh.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

For some time the two men amused themselves with watching the movement of vague forms on the edge of the firelight.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

She ate a hearty breakfast, and watched a wee Munchkin baby, who played with Toto and pulled his tail and crowed and laughed in a way that greatly amused Dorothy.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

For some time she was amused, without thinking beyond the immediate cause; but as she came to understand the family better, other feelings arose.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Well, by-and-by we shall have a few friends, and that will amuse her a little.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

My trifling occupations take up my time and amuse me, and I am rewarded for any exertions by seeing none but happy, kind faces around me.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Elizabeth took up some needlework, and was sufficiently amused in attending to what passed between Darcy and his companion.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

He glanced around as he spoke with the half-amused look which he had worn during the whole proceedings.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We all have them; and she amuses the Prince.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I glanced at the hastily clad clergyman, with the formally dressed lodger seated beside him, and was amused at the surprise which Holmes’s simple deduction had brought to their faces.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)