as in engaged
involved in often constant activity
the boy is constantly occupied, usually with sports or schoolwork
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in interested
to hold the attention of
a puzzle will occupy that child for hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 occupied
Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American from Palm Bay, Florida, was arrested by Israeli forces in February 2025 after being accused of throwing rocks at Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
On Tuesday, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged both suspects with shooting at an occupied dwelling and negligent discharge of a firearm, police said.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
In June of 2025, Santa Ana became an occupied city.
—Bulmaro Vicente, Oc Register, 26 Oct. 2025
Israeli forces stand guard as Israeli settlers walk through the Old City of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Saturday.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
Remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions, or stay near occupied lifeguard towers.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli prisons were released into Gaza and the occupied West Bank as part of phase one of the ceasefire deal.
—Carrie Kahn, NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Tim Lister, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Today, many of them are occupied by a variety of shops, cafes, and antique markets just waiting to be explored.
—Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
The legacy media was, in some cases, afraid to break with the public-health officials and others who occupied the highest ranks of our government.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Heisenberg received 150 liters (some 40 gallons) of heavy water from Norway, which had been occupied the previous fall by the German army.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
The maker of computer networking hardware for consumers, businesses, and service providers had occupied 142,700 square feet.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
Finding effective ways to tackle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans, especially those who’ve seen combat, is a worthy cause that has occupied the minds of many researchers over the years.
—New Atlas, 22 Oct. 2025
Its ten stalls are occupied by food vendors representing a wide array of cuisines and are within walking distance of a Dave & Buster’s arcade, an IMAX movie theater and the RTD light rail’s Colorado Station.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025
Chicago currently has all 15 of its standard roster spots occupied, and also has players signed to all three of its two-way slots.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions, or stay near occupied lifeguard towers.
—Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American from Palm Bay, Florida, was arrested by Israeli forces in February 2025 after being accused of throwing rocks at Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
On Tuesday, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged both suspects with shooting at an occupied dwelling and negligent discharge of a firearm, police said.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
In June of 2025, Santa Ana became an occupied city.
—Bulmaro Vicente, Oc Register, 26 Oct. 2025
Israeli forces stand guard as Israeli settlers walk through the Old City of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Saturday.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
Remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions, or stay near occupied lifeguard towers.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli prisons were released into Gaza and the occupied West Bank as part of phase one of the ceasefire deal.
—Carrie Kahn, NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
One of them was used in an attack on the bridge linking Russia and occupied Crimea in June, the SBU said.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Today, many of them are occupied by a variety of shops, cafes, and antique markets just waiting to be explored.
—Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
The legacy media was, in some cases, afraid to break with the public-health officials and others who occupied the highest ranks of our government.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Heisenberg received 150 liters (some 40 gallons) of heavy water from Norway, which had been occupied the previous fall by the German army.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
The maker of computer networking hardware for consumers, businesses, and service providers had occupied 142,700 square feet.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
Finding effective ways to tackle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans, especially those who’ve seen combat, is a worthy cause that has occupied the minds of many researchers over the years.
—New Atlas, 22 Oct. 2025
Its ten stalls are occupied by food vendors representing a wide array of cuisines and are within walking distance of a Dave & Buster’s arcade, an IMAX movie theater and the RTD light rail’s Colorado Station.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025
Chicago currently has all 15 of its standard roster spots occupied, and also has players signed to all three of its two-way slots.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for occupied
Adjective
-
Try having a musician become engaged for that length of time.—
Karen Taylor Bass,
Billboard,
6 Nov. 2025
-
In the year since their split, Turner has gotten engaged to his new partner, Lana Sutton.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Tommaso di Lampedusa’s novel, which looks at the unification of Italy from the perspective of a 20th-century writer, had a modernity that interested me.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Since his death more than two hundred years ago, Christophe’s tragic story has interested a broad array of playwrights, artists, novelists, and filmmakers across the world.—
Marlene L. Daut
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
At 40 of the country’s busiest airports, flights coming and going will be reduced by 10% this week.—
The Kim Komando Show,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The shutdown’s ripple effects spread across nearly every part of the air travel network Friday, with the nation’s busiest airports hit hardest.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Rostyslav Semikov, who helped facilitate the trip, said the goal was for the Ukrainian doctors to be immersed in best practices.—
Ciara McCarthy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Nov. 2025
-
But you’ll still be immersed in nature and stillness, nonetheless.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Cardiologists are intrigued, but cautious.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Although he was married at the time, Lennon immediately was intrigued by Ono, and the two eventually became inseparable creative partners for the rest of his life.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Although some perhapsing and mythmaking inevitably find their way into The Dream Factory, Swift is far more diligent about the factual record than Greenblatt is.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Even diligent collateral checks aren’t foolproof, and determined fraudsters will succeed for a while.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Following a new Evanston policy, local police obtained the badge numbers of the federal agents involved in Friday’s arrests, Biss said.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Daniel also has and continues to be involved in podcasting at the newspaper.—
Daniel McFadin,
Arkansas Online,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Nat was fascinated by that refusal of categories.—
James Marcus,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Poukine is fascinated by survival as a slow act of self-rediscovery.—
Catherine Bray,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Occupied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/occupied. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share