engaged

adjective en·gaged \ in-ˈgājd , en- \

Definition of engaged

1 :involved in activity :occupied, busy

2 :pledged to be married :betrothed

3 :greatly interested :committed

4 :involved especially in a hostile encounter

5 :partly embedded in a wall

an engaged column

6 :being in gear :meshed

See engaged defined for English-language learners

See engaged defined for kids

Examples of engaged in a Sentence

the engaged couple make a charming pair
I'm engaged right now, so call back some other time.

Recent Examples of engaged from the Web

Our research on ETA suggests that terrorist attacks are likely to make people more politically engaged and supportive of the democratic system.

— laia balcells, Washington Post, "Half a million marched this weekend in Barcelona. Do terror attacks make people more politically engaged?," 28 Aug. 2017
On the one hand, students now seem far more engaged in school and committed to college.

— chris berdik, The Atlantic, "How Student Internships Saved a Chicago School," 23 Aug. 2017
The main challenge, at least for her, wasn’t pianistic technique, but the depth-of-emotional connection: Though her performances were super-engaged and entirely committed throughout, the Piano Sonata No.

— david patrick stearns, Philly.com, "Ching-Yun Hu opens concert series in mighty wrestle with Rachmaninoff," 9 Aug. 2017
By the afternoon, the body of Ruth Berg, a 47-year-old receptionist who was engaged to be married, was pulled from the debris.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "2 killed, 9 injured in gas explosion at Minneapolis school," 3 Aug. 2017
But last year, the pair began publicly dating again; now they're...somewhere between engaged and not.

— elizabeth logan, Teen Vogue, "Miley Cyrus Shares Throwback Pic of Her Kissing Liam Hemsworth," 6 July 2017
After meeting on the film and starting a romance, Miley and Liam became engaged, but later broke up.

— elizabeth logan, Teen Vogue, "Miley Cyrus Shares Throwback Pic of Her Kissing Liam Hemsworth," 6 July 2017
Speakers try to encourage convention attendees to become engaged in local government.

— olga yakovleva special to the miami herald, miamiherald, "A conference for people with disabilities focuses on their abilities," 30 June 2017
But in addition to PJ and Thomas, the series stars Thomas' sister, Sydney (also gay and engaged to a woman named Alice), and their funny British neighbor, Tania.

— taysha murtaugh, Country Living, "11 Things You Need to Know About HGTV's New Show, 'Down to the Studs'," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'engaged.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of engaged

1629

engaged Synonyms

Synonyms

affianced, bespoke (also bespoken) [dialect], betrothed, promised [chiefly dialect]

Antonyms

unattached

Related Words

committed

Near Antonyms

free; asleep, dormant, latent, lifeless, quiescent, sleepy; inert, passive; dead, dull, slow; inoperative, nonoperating

ENGAGED Defined for English Language Learners

engaged

adjective

Definition of engaged for English Language Learners

: promised to be married
: busy with some activity
of a telephone or telephone line : being used

ENGAGED Defined for Kids

engaged

adjective en·gaged \ in-ˈgājd \

Definition of engaged for Students

1 :busy with an activity

She is engaged in full-time research.

2 :promised to be married

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engaged

Definition of engaged

From the M-W Editors

Examples of engaged in a Sentence

Recent Examples of engaged from the Web

First Known Use of engaged

engaged Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Phrases Related to ENGAGED

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ENGAGED Defined for English Language Learners

engaged

Definition of engaged for English Language Learners

ENGAGED Defined for Kids

engaged

Definition of engaged for Students

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