entertain
verb
Simple meaning
To amuse; to engage the attention of agreeably.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehntertaynSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɛntɚˈteɪn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To amuse (someone); to engage the attention of agreeably
Take into consideration, have in view
“He entertained the notion of moving to South America.”
transitive and intransitive
To have someone over at one's home, or some other venue, for a party or visit.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Take into consideration, have in view
Used this way, entertain is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He entertained the notion of moving to South America.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use entertain
- “He entertained the notion of moving to South America.”verb
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A person who tries to please or amuse.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An activity that is diverting and that holds the attention.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to amuse (someone)
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.