busied

verb

past tense of busy
as in interested
to hold the attention of the video game busied the child for hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of busied While their fellow Plums busied themselves with bridal parties and wedding cakes, these girls had political awakenings. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026 Appropriately, 19 miles east of their first major trophy lift since the 2021/22 League Cup, City men busied themselves by lifting the FA Cup over Chelsea in what was Pep Guardiola’s 24th visit to Wembley Stadium and his 20th major trophies as City manager. — Megan Feringa, New York Times, 17 May 2026 Another busied himself writing and rewriting the mundane information on his slate. — Taran Khan, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026 Emma shook her head and busied herself with picking up her waders. — Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026 The department has also busied itself in Minneapolis with prosecuting residents opposed to what federal officials are doing in their city and immigrants trying to flee their pursuers, a tactic seen in other cities targeted for immigration enforcement. — Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026 For the first 12 minutes, the Celtics busied themselves by snapping up free points. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026 Eventually, though, after the Falcons recovered an onside kick successfully and knelt the rest of the way en route to a 19-17 victory, the family busied themselves jumping up and down, screaming for joy. — Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 5 Jan. 2026 So, after the sombrero drew hearty guffaws, my friend Jim busied himself finding monuments to chip-and-dip tastelessness. — Lee Michael Katz, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for busied
  1. interested
  2. occupied
  3. immersed
  4. intrigued
  5. involved
  6. fascinated
Verb
  • But what really interested us with this movie was trying to understand the humanity and searching for and exploring the love and the loyalty to characters to have a dialogue with an audience and not do it for the sake of ego or shock.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Camerlenghi says Gradara Castle has interested him since his childhood.
    — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 12 July 2026
Definition of interested
Verb
  • By Israel’s calculation, Turkey occupied 5% of Syrian territory, though essentially with Damascus’s blessing and cooperation.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 18 Aug. 2026
  • No major injuries were reported, but a short time later the Jeep collided head on with a car occupied by four people.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of occupied
Verb
  • Hadid immersed herself in the rugged world of horse-riders in central Morocco to follow an equestrian military ritual called Tbourida, which dates back to the 16th century.
    — Mya Copeland, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The California couple, publishers of the Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine for the past 15 years, have spent two decades immersed in the vintage trailer community.
    — Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of immersed
Verb
  • Cabrera’s raw talent intrigued Jed Hoyer’s front office for years.
    — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Many will be intrigued by Florian Zeller’s latest, featuring real-life couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, about an architect building a survivalist bunker for a billionaire and his wife, who questions his involvement.
    — David Bloom, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of intrigued
Verb
  • While the document contains names of those involved, WCCO is not reporting them here to allow authorities to contact next of kin.
    — Conor Wight, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • For many of those involved in the project, bears aren’t the only focus of their research interests.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of involved
Verb
  • The 31-year-old rapper, a member of the megagroup NCT and the leader of its subgroup NCT 127, has seemingly always been fascinated by merging different genres to create a new song.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Questions around beauty and longing recur, as do keywords (such as ‘password’), names, references and scenic features, but what fascinated me most is that in principle each episode could be read as a little patchy universe on its own.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of fascinated

Browse Nearby Words

bushwhacks
busied
busies
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Busied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/busied. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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