Synonyms of entertaining

entertaining 1 of 2

adjective

ˌen-tər-ˈtā-niŋ 

as in amusing

providing amusement or enjoyment

a list of entertaining things to do on a snow day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• amusing
• fun
• enjoyable
• delightful
• exciting
• pleasurable
• funny
• nice
• pleasant
• diverting
• humorous
• satisfying
• recreational
• welcome
• happy
• merry
• hilarious
• beguiling
• ridiculous
• comical
• agreeable
• comic
• thrilling
• riotous
• jovial
• ludicrous
• farcical
• laughable
• uproarious
• stimulating
• jolly
• sunny
• droll
• gleeful
• antic
• sidesplitting
• mirthful
• risible
• jocose
• jocund
• gay
• blithesome

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• boring
• tedious
• uninteresting
• tiresome
• dull
• monotonous
• tiring
• heavy
• wearisome
• weary
• flat
• ponderous
• drab
• pedestrian
• dreary
• stuffy
• humdrum
• stodgy
• leaden
• unpleasant
• wearying
• disagreeable
• distasteful
• unwelcome
• pleasureless
• jading
• uncongenial
• unpleasing
• displeasing
• unlovely

entertaining

2 of 2

verb

present participle of entertain

1

as in regaling

to cause (someone) to pass the time agreeably occupied

entertain the kids while I go and prepare dinner

Synonyms & Similar Words

• amusing
• regaling
• distracting
• interesting
• diverting
• delighting
• pleasing
• occupying
• appeasing
• engrossing
• enchanting
• captivating
• engaging
• charming
• consoling
• intriguing
• solacing
• fascinating
• comforting
• involving
• disporting
• busying
• mesmerizing
• immersing
• gratifying
• bewitching
• hypnotizing
• absorbing
• soothing
• spoiling
• beguiling
• humoring
• enthralling
• indulging
• gripping
• pampering
• pleasuring
• contenting
• placating
• obliging
• coddling
• pacifying
• propitiating
• conciliating
• mollifying
• mollycoddling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• boring
• exhausting
• tiring
• draining
• wearing
• enervating
• fatiguing
• wearying
• wearing out
• jading
• exasperating
• aggravating
• disturbing
• annoying
• harassing
• upsetting
• bothering
• vexing
• perturbing
• grating
• pestering
• bugging
• harrying
• chafing
• galling
• fretting
• nettling
• irking
• piquing
• peeving

2

as in considering

to give serious and careful thought to

have you ever entertained the thought that you could be wrong?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• considering
• debating
• pondering
• contemplating
• studying
• questioning
• exploring
• weighing
• reviewing
• analyzing
• eyeing
• ruminating
• looking at
• thinking (about or over)
• deliberating
• cogitating
• meditating
• revolving
• wrestling (with)
• mulling (over)
• chewing on
• poring (over)
• perpending
• turning
• chewing over
• digesting
• kicking around
• reminiscing
• reflecting (on or upon)
• beating one's brains out (about)
• reasoning
• cudgeling one's brains (about)
• musing (upon)
• absorbing
• believing
• concluding
• opining
• speculating (about)
• dwelling (on or upon)
• fixating (on or upon)
• brooding (about or over)
• obsessing (about or over)
• assimilating
• fretting (about or over)
• conceiving
• second-guessing
• drinking (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• overlooking
• disregarding
• dismissing
• rejecting
• slighting
• pooh-poohing

3

as in having

to keep in one's mind or heart

I don't entertain the hope of ever getting a girl like that to go out with me

Synonyms & Similar Words

• having
• holding
• retaining
• keeping
• harboring
• cultivating
• cherishing
• maintaining
• holding on to
• nursing
• remembering
• bearing
• carrying
• sustaining
• nurturing
• hanging on to
• fostering
• supporting
• preserving
• hugging
• sticking (to)
• clinging (to)
• treasuring
• cleaving (to)
• brooding (about or over)
• fixating (on or upon)
• obsessing (about or over)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• forgetting
• overlooking
• neglecting
• disregarding
• denying
• dropping
• refusing
• declining
• rejecting
• repudiating
• abandoning
• discarding
• giving up
• quitting
• throwing out
• forsaking
• renouncing
• parting (with)
• disdaining
• scorning
• deserting
• abjuring
• erasing
• expunging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of entertaining

Adjective

An on-screen message told commentators and viewers this would be the case, but it was displayed in error, and what had been an entertaining race ended as something of a damp squib. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 6 July 2026

If the art is bold, inspirational or entertaining, place it where it can be viewed easily. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 6 July 2026

Verb

And frankly, returning viewers as well, since the Enola Holmes films, while entertaining enough, don’t exactly linger in the memory. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 30 June 2026

Set in the eponymous Texas metropolis, Dallas followed the Ewings, a powerful family of oil tycoons and ranch owners whose feuds and foibles made for wildly entertaining primetime viewing. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 28 June 2026