amuse

verb

ə-ˈmyüz 

amused; amusing

transitive verb

1

a

: to entertain or occupy in a light, playful, or pleasant manner

She tried to amuse the child with a story.

b

: to appeal to the sense of humor of

His jokes don't amuse me.

2

a

archaic : to divert the attention of so as to deceive

b

obsolete : to occupy the attention of : absorb

c

obsolete : distract, bewilder

intransitive verb

obsolete : muse

amuser noun

Synonyms

• entertain
• regale

Choose the Right Synonym for amuse

amuse, divert, entertain mean to pass or cause to pass the time pleasantly.

amuse suggests that one's attention is engaged lightly.

amuse yourselves while I make dinner

divert implies distracting attention from worry or routine occupation especially by something funny.

a light comedy to divert the tired businessman

entertain suggests supplying amusement by specially contrived methods.

a magician entertaining children at a party

Examples of amuse in a Sentence

It amuses me to think of how he looked when I last saw him.

a funny story that never fails to amuse

He amused himself with a game of solitaire.

Recent Examples on the Web

The project amused Shaw-Rimmington—he’d never seen an actual stagecoach house built in that way, and certainly not in California. —Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 July 2025

Fans of Pitch Perfect, which famously begins with Camp's Aubrey profusely upchucking all over the crowd at the a cappella finals, will be, if not delighted, at least amused to know that her new film, Bride Hard, begins in much the same way. —Lauren Huff Published, EW.com, 21 June 2025

Sometimes the aim was to amuse, but mostly, the idea was to mislead voters or throw a wrench into the wheels of democracy. —Scott Thuman, Baltimore Sun, 20 June 2025

Viewers on TikTok were amused by the photos shown in the viral video and flooded the comments section with their reactions. —Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French amuser, from Old French, from a- (from Latin ad-) + muser to muse

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Phrases Containing amuse

• amuse-bouche

Rhymes for amuse

• accrues
• accuse
• aircrews
• bamboos
• breakthroughs
• canoes
• cashews
• chartreuse
• confuse
• construes
• defuse
• ensues

Kids Definition

amuse

verb

ə-ˈmyüz 

amused; amusing

1

: to occupy with something pleasant

amuse a child with a toy

2

: to please the sense of humor of

the story amused everyone

amusedly

-ˈmyü-zəd-lē 

adverb

amusingly

-ˈmyü-ziŋ-lē

adverb