Amusing Meaning
/əˈmjuːzɪŋ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbpresent participle and gerund of amuse
adjEntertaining.
Sentence Examples
The story was amusing.
This book is not less amusing than that one.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
She told such an ____ story that everyone at the party burst into laughter.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I found the story to be quite ____ and laughed several times while reading.
Word Origin & History
By surface analysis, amuse + -ing.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We don’t get amusinger as we get older, we grow prosy and repeat ourselves and talk about our complaints and selfish grievances: but our old friends bear up with our dullness for old times’ sake; […]"
— 1856 March 10, William Makepeace Thackeray, “To Mrs. Elliot”, in Gordon N[orton] Ray, editor, The Letters and Private Papers of William Makepeace Thackeray, volume III (1852–1856), London: Oxford University Press, published 1946, →OCLC, page 582:
"Never borrow money for my amusements. Now paying Mrs. McCrowder just at this present period would be an amusement. In fact when we consider the quality of the article she gives, I think that paying her on the nail would be about the amusingest little thing I could do."
— 1861 January 12, Fitz-Hugh Ludlow, “The Primpenny Family. […] Chapter II.”, in Vanity Fair, volume III, New York, N.Y.: Louis H. Stephens, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 13–14:
"‘It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.’"
— 1963, Margery Allingham, “Off the Record”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 64:
"They seem amusing on the first day of Christmas, daft on the second, embarrassing on the third. By the twelfth they're in landfill. For 30 seconds of dubious entertainment, or a hedonic stimulus that lasts no longer than a nicotine hit, we commission the use of materials whose impacts will ramify for generations."
— 2012 December 21, George Monbiot, “Your gift at Christmas will soon be junk”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 2, page 24:
"An amusing incident on the first of these journeys was the checking by signal of the flyer about 3 miles out of Paris, with the result that it was overhauled by the 6.25 p.m. semi-fast from Paris to Montargis, to the unconcealed delight of passengers in the latter."
— 1952 December, 'Mercury', “Modern French Locomotive Performance”, in Railway Magazine, pages 808-809:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She told such an ____ story that everyone at the party burst into laughter.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I found the story to be quite ____ and laughed several times while reading.