as in interested
to hold the attention of
the video game busied the child for hours
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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
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
Verb
-
What interested me about Ripley, on the other hand, was the idea of a person who isn’t quite whole, a fake and a forger, a chameleon who insinuates himself into situations, with appalling consequences.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Nov. 2025
-
The only role that never interested the actress was wife.—
Julie Jordan,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
As the name implies, these sensors are designed to detect whether the room is occupied.—
Timothy Dale,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 June 2026
-
Settlers may have been inspired to new forms of play by their encounters with members of the Wampanoag Nation, who had occupied coastal Massachusetts for some 12,000 years.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Since becoming national team coach three and a half years ago, the Catalan has immersed himself in Portuguese history and football culture.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
-
In this, intact components were immersed in a specialized electrochemical bath to restore 95 percent of the dead batteries.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
Verb
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The Condé Nast Traveler team was particularly intrigued by the film's locations, which range from New York to the Dominican Republic.—
Ruchira Sharma,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 June 2026
-
He was intrigued by the title and took it home.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
However much Trump was personally involved in shaping these national-security documents, there’s little doubt that the 2025 version sounds a lot more like the man himself than the 2017 iteration.—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
11 Dec. 2025
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One example involved a carton of Lucerne eggs, a private-label brand sold widely at Safeway and Albertsons stores in Arizona.—
Rey Covarrubias Jr,
AZCentral.com,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
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By the time Jackie arrived at Buckingham Palace for her first meeting with the Queen in June 1961 during her husband's presidency, she had long been fascinated by royalty.—
Simon Perry,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
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Harron had discovered Solanas while working on a documentary about Warhol’s world, and was fascinated by her story.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Busied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/busied. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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